Chapter 24 of Ariel Dances is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of Ariel Dances is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Your line has been busy for the past hour! Big business?” It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning. He laughed. “Reporters mostly.
Chapter 24 of Ariel Dances is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading ““Your line has been busy for the past hour!”
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading “It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.”
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading ““Your line has been busy for the past hour!”
in large part; mainly or chiefly
From this reading ““Reporters mostly.”
the middle of the day
From this reading “It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.”
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading “It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.”
plural of “reporter” — a person who investigates and reports or edits news stories
From this reading ““Reporters mostly.”
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading “It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.”
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.
In this reading “It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.”
In this reading “It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.”
commercial enterprises organized and financed on a scale large enough to influence social and political policies
In this reading “Big business?””
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.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “Your line has been busy for the past hour!
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Big business?”
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading Big business?”
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “Your line has been busy for the past hour!
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Your line has been busy for the past hour!
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Your line has been busy for the past hour!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He laughed.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading “Your line has been busy for the past hour!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading He laughed.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading “Your line has been busy for the past hour!
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
in large part; mainly or chiefly
From this reading “Reporters mostly.
the middle of the day
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading “Your line has been busy for the past hour!
plural of “reporter” — a person who investigates and reports or edits news stories
From this reading “Reporters mostly.
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Your line has been busy for the past hour!
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
in the direction of
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Joan’s voice, coming to Hugh through his office telephone toward noon the following morning.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Your line has been busy for the past hour!
Chapter 24 of Ariel Dances by Ethel Cook Eliot holds 187 sentences, grouped into 38 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.
Chapter 24 holds 187 sentences of Ariel Dances, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of Ariel Dances by Ethel Cook Eliot exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 187 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 24 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 Ariel Dances by Ethel Cook Eliot on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7424 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58412 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58412, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1485 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ariel Dances section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Ariel Dances 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 Ariel Dances, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
