Chapter 18 of Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE INVALID. The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing. I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned. I was shown at once to Mr Stoddart’s library. There I found the two ladies in attendance upon him.
Chapter 18 of Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
the act of being present (at a meeting or event etc.)
From this reading “There I found the two ladies in attendance upon him.”
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading “The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.”
someone who is incapacitated by a chronic illness or injury
From this reading “THE INVALID.”
a room where books are kept
From this reading “I was shown at once to Mr Stoddart’s library.”
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading “I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned.”
inflected form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “I was shown at once to Mr Stoddart’s library.”
more slowly
From this reading “The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.”
disposed or inclined toward
From this reading “The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.”
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.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I was shown at once to Mr Stoddart’s library.
the act of being present (at a meeting or event etc.)
From this reading There I found the two ladies in attendance upon him.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
set up or found
From this reading I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There I found the two ladies in attendance upon him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There I found the two ladies in attendance upon him.
someone who is incapacitated by a chronic illness or injury
From this reading THE INVALID.
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading There I found the two ladies in attendance upon him.
a room where books are kept
From this reading I was shown at once to Mr Stoddart’s library.
a form of address for a man
From this reading I was shown at once to Mr Stoddart’s library.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
on one occasion
From this reading I was shown at once to Mr Stoddart’s library.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned.
To recall to mind.
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned.
inflected form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading I was shown at once to Mr Stoddart’s library.
more slowly
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I was shown at once to Mr Stoddart’s library.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE INVALID.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There I found the two ladies in attendance upon him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading There I found the two ladies in attendance upon him.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading There I found the two ladies in attendance upon him.
precisely as stated
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
disposed or inclined toward
From this reading The following day being very fine, I walked to Oldcastle Hall; but I remember well how much slower I was forced to walk than I was willing.
but in spite of that
From this reading I found to my relief that Mrs Oldcastle had not yet returned.
Chapter 18 of Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood by George MacDonald holds 230 sentences, grouped into 46 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.
Chapter 18 holds 230 sentences of Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 230 sentences, grouped into 46 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.
Work through the 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 18 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.
Common questions about reading Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8223 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5773 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5773, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1645 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
