Chapter 33 of Birds of Prey is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIII
Chapter 33 of Birds of Prey is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. HAWKEHURST AND MR. GEORGE SHELDON COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING. There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship. The world was his oyster, and that oyster was yet unopened.
Chapter 33 of Birds of Prey is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage)
From this reading “There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.”
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading “There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.”
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading “GEORGE SHELDON COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING.”
having no employment
From this reading “There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.”
marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters
From this reading “The world was his oyster, and that oyster was yet unopened.”
the cognitive condition of someone who understands
From this reading “GEORGE SHELDON COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING.”
not yet opened or unsealed
From this reading “The world was his oyster, and that oyster was yet unopened.”
a sweetheart chosen to receive a greeting on Saint Valentine's Day
From this reading “There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.”
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 form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading GEORGE SHELDON COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading HAWKEHURST AND MR.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading GEORGE SHELDON COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING.
a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage)
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading GEORGE SHELDON COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HAWKEHURST AND MR.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
having no employment
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters
From this reading The world was his oyster, and that oyster was yet unopened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GEORGE SHELDON COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The world was his oyster, and that oyster was yet unopened.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The world was his oyster, and that oyster was yet unopened.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
a special situation
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading GEORGE SHELDON COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING.
the cognitive condition of someone who understands
From this reading GEORGE SHELDON COME TO AN UNDERSTANDING.
not yet opened or unsealed
From this reading The world was his oyster, and that oyster was yet unopened.
a sweetheart chosen to receive a greeting on Saint Valentine's Day
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no such thing as idleness for Valentine Hawkehurst during these happy days of his courtship.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading The world was his oyster, and that oyster was yet unopened.
but in spite of that
From this reading The world was his oyster, and that oyster was yet unopened.
Chapter 33 of Birds of Prey by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon holds 98 sentences, grouped into 20 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 33 holds 98 sentences of Birds of Prey, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 33 of Birds of Prey by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 98 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 33 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 Birds of Prey by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6938 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9362 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9362, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 578 minutes of reading across 1388 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Birds of Prey section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Birds of Prey 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 Birds of Prey, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
