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An Isle of Surrey: A Novel
An Isle of Surrey: A Novel

Chapter X

Chapter 10 of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Richard Dowling • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for An Isle of Surrey: A Novel
Context Illustration Reading 1/35 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
FATHER AND SON.
Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.
He was not used to children.
He had had only one sister, and no brother.
His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

An Isle of Surrey: A Novel

Chapter X

Chapter 10 of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel is here in full — 178 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/35 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
FATHER AND SON.
/ˈfɑːðər ənd sʌn/
Line 2
Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.
Line 3
He was not used to children.
/hiː wɑːz nɑːt juːzd tuː ˈtʃɪldrən/
Line 4
He had had only one sister, and no brother.
/hiː hæd hæd ˈoʊnli wʌn ˈsɪstər ənd noʊ ˈbrʌðər/
Line 5
His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.
/hɪz ˈsɪstər twelv jɪrz ˈoʊldər ðæn hɪmˈself hæd ˈmerid ənd ɡɔːn əˈweɪ tuː ɔːˈstreɪljə bɪˈfɔːr hiː wɑːz eɪt jɪrz ʌv eɪdʒ/

Learner Dictionary

These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.

Australia noun US /ɔːˈstreɪljə/

a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony

From this reading “His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Canal noun US /kəˈnæl/

(astronomy) an indistinct surface feature of Mars once thought to be a system of channels; they are now believed to be an optical illusion

From this reading “Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
charge verb US /tʃɑːrdʒ/

to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle

From this reading “Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
eight adjective US /eɪt/

being one more than seven

From this reading “His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
older adjective US /ˈoʊldər/

advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)

From this reading “His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
qualified adjective US /ˈkwɑːləfaɪd/

meeting the proper standards and requirements and training for an office or position or task

From this reading “Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
tiny adjective US /ˈtaɪni/

very small

From this reading “Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
twelve noun US /twelv/

the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one

From this reading “His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.

Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.

twelve years noun + noun

In this reading “His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.”

5,797 times in 426,211 chapters
eight years adjective + noun

In this reading “His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.”

5,421 times in 426,211 chapters
charge of verb + particle

In this reading “Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.”

33,178 times in 426,211 chapters
young child adjective + noun

In this reading “Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.”

2,833 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 52

Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.

Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
agenounUS /eɪdʒ/

how long something has existed

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/

Having no one else present.

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora curated lexicon
ANDconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading FATHER AND SON.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
AustralianounUS /ɔːˈstreɪljə/

a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
awayadverbUS /əˈweɪ/

from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
Bramwell

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Pending verification
brothernounUS /ˈbrʌðər/

a male with the same parents as someone else

From this reading He had had only one sister, and no brother.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
CanalnounUS /kəˈnæl/

(astronomy) an indistinct surface feature of Mars once thought to be a system of channels; they are now believed to be an optical illusion

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
chargeverbUS /tʃɑːrdʒ/

to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
childnounUS /tʃaɪld/

a young person of either sex

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
childrennounUS /ˈtʃɪldrən/

plural of “child” — a young person of either sex

From this reading He was not used to children.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
eightadjectiveUS /eɪt/

being one more than seven

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
FATHERnounUS /ˈfɑːðər/

a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)

From this reading FATHER AND SON.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Francis

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Pending verification
goneadjectiveUS /ɡɔːn/

destroyed or killed

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading He had had only one sister, and no brother.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He was not used to children.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
islandnounUS /ˈaɪlənd/

a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lessadverbUS /les/

used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
livingnounUS /ˈlɪvɪŋ/

the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
LondonnounUS /ˈlʌndən/

the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
marriedadjectiveUS /ˈmerid/

joined in matrimony

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mennounUS /men/

the force of workers available

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading He had had only one sister, and no brother.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading He was not used to children.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
OfprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
olderadjectiveUS /ˈoʊldər/

advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
onlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/

and nothing more

From this reading He had had only one sister, and no brother.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
qualifiedadjectiveUS /ˈkwɑːləfaɪd/

meeting the proper standards and requirements and training for an office or position or task

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
scarcelyadverbUS /ˈskersli/

only a very short time before

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
sisternounUS /ˈsɪstər/

a female person who has the same parents as another person

From this reading He had had only one sister, and no brother.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
SONnounUS /sʌn/

a male human offspring

From this reading FATHER AND SON.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
SouthnounUS /saʊθ/

the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
takeverbUS /teɪk/

carry out

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
tinyadjectiveUS /ˈtaɪni/

very small

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
twelvenounUS /twelv/

the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
usedadjectiveUS /juːzd/

employed in accomplishing something

From this reading He was not used to children.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
yearsnounUS /jɪrz/

a late time of life

From this reading His sister, twelve years older than himself, had married and gone away to Australia before he was eight years of age.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
youngadjectiveUS /jʌŋ/

(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth

From this reading Of all the men in London, there was scarcely one less qualified to take charge of a young child than Francis Bramwell, living alone on his tiny island in the South London Canal.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Chapter 10 of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel by Richard Dowling holds 178 sentences, grouped into 36 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.

What does chapter 10 of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel contain?

Chapter 10 holds 178 sentences of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 10 of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel by Richard Dowling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 178 sentences, grouped into 36 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.

How do I study chapter 10 of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel?

Work through the 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 36 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.

Can chapter 10 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 10 can be played aloud in United States English.

Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.

Questions about reading An Isle of Surrey: A Novel

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Is this the complete text of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel?

Yes. All 6712 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42756 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #42756, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does An Isle of Surrey: A Novel take to read?

About 559 minutes of reading across 1343 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in An Isle of Surrey: A Novel

Words and structures a reader meets early in An Isle of Surrey: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Source
A word that appears in the opening chapter of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Novel
A word that appears in the opening chapter of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Mystery
A word that appears in the opening chapter of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Killard
A word that appears in the opening chapter of An Isle of Surrey: A Novel; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.