Chapter 21 of Averil is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Averil is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JIM O'REILLY. Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night. It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door. There was no response. She knocked again, and then gently turned the handle.
Chapter 21 of Averil is here in full — 186 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.
inflected form of “bid” — propose a payment
From this reading “Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.”
placed crosswise
From this reading “It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.”
in a gradual manner
From this reading “She knocked again, and then gently turned the handle.”
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading “She knocked again, and then gently turned the handle.”
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.”
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “She knocked again, and then gently turned the handle.”
a result
From this reading “There was no response.”
in a condition for letting out liquid drawn out as by piercing or drawing a plug
From this reading “It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.”
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.
temporarily
In this reading “It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.”
In this reading “Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.”
In this reading “She knocked again, and then gently turned the handle.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
anew
From this reading She knocked again, and then gently turned the handle.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
inflected form of “bid” — propose a payment
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
placed crosswise
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
in a gradual manner
From this reading She knocked again, and then gently turned the handle.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading She knocked again, and then gently turned the handle.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JIM O'REILLY.
and nothing more
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading She knocked again, and then gently turned the handle.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
a particular point in time
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no response.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JIM O'REILLY.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
a result
From this reading There was no response.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
with low volume
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
in a condition for letting out liquid drawn out as by piercing or drawing a plug
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no response.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She knocked again, and then gently turned the handle.
precisely as stated
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was very late, and just for a moment she hesitated; then she crossed the passage and tapped softly at her door.
at the time that
From this reading Averil had just reached her own room when she remembered that she had not bidden Maud good-night.
Chapter 21 of Averil by Rosa Nouchette Carey holds 186 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 21 holds 186 sentences of Averil, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Averil by Rosa Nouchette Carey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 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 21 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 Averil by Rosa Nouchette Carey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4716 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48228 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48228, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 393 minutes of reading across 944 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Averil section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Averil 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 Averil, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
