Chapter 1 of Barbara in Brittany is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Barbara in Brittany is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUNT ANNE. Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face. "Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced. "To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat. "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
Chapter 1 of Barbara in Brittany is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading “AUNT ANNE.”
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “"Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced.”
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading “AUNT ANNE.”
plural of “holiday” — leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading “"Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."”
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading “"Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."”
a child's room for a baby
From this reading “Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.”
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading “"To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat.”
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading “Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.”
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 Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading AUNT ANNE.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading "Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading AUNT ANNE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
a youthful male person
From this reading "To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading "Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading "Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
favorite
From this reading "To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
plural of “holiday” — leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced.
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
a child's room for a baby
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
on the contrary
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading "To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat.
express in words
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Aunt Anne is coming to-morrow, children," she announced.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "Oh, I say, Barbe, that's really rather hard lines--in the holidays, too."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "To-morrow!" exclaimed a fair-haired boy, rising from the window-seat.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading Barbara entered the nursery with rather a worried look on her face.
Chapter 1 of Barbara in Brittany by E. A. Gillie holds 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 1 holds 154 sentences of Barbara in Brittany, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Barbara in Brittany by E. A. Gillie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 1 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 Barbara in Brittany by E. A. Gillie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2117 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22774 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22774, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 176 minutes of reading across 424 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Barbara in Brittany section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Barbara in Brittany 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 Barbara in Brittany, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
