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Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs
Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs

Chapter XXV · Chapter 25

Chapter 25 of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs is here in full — 261 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs
Context Illustration Reading 1/52 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.
The artist was a waster and a wanderer.
In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.
Joses had been the result.
The father shortly deserted the mother, who took to the music-hall stage.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs

Chapter XXV · Chapter 25

Chapter 25 of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs is here in full — 261 sentences across 53 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/52 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.
Line 2
The artist was a waster and a wanderer.
/ðə ˈɑːrtəst wɑːz ə ˈweɪstər ənd ə ˈwɑːndərər/
Line 3
In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.
Line 4
Joses had been the result.
Line 5
The father shortly deserted the mother, who took to the music-hall stage.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Bach noun US /bɑːk/

German baroque organist and contrapuntist; composed mostly keyboard music; one of the greatest creators of western music (1685-1750)

From this reading “The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.”

Dancer's noun US /ˈdænsərz/

possessive form of “dancer” — a performer who dances professionally

From this reading “The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.”

extraction noun US /ekˈstrækʃən/

the process of obtaining something from a mixture or compound by chemical or physical or mechanical means

From this reading “The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.”

mated adjective US /ˈmeɪtɪd/

mated sexually

From this reading “In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.”

Portuguese noun US /ˈpɔːrtʃəɡiːz/

the Romance language spoken in Portugal and Brazil

From this reading “The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.”

posed adjective US /poʊzd/

arranged for pictorial purposes

From this reading “In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.”

wanderer noun US /ˈwɑːndərər/

someone who leads a wandering unsettled life

From this reading “The artist was a waster and a wanderer.”

waster noun US /ˈweɪstər/

someone who dissipates resources self-indulgently

From this reading “The artist was a waster and a wanderer.”

All words in this reading · 39

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The artist was a waster and a wanderer.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading The artist was a waster and a wanderer.

artistnounUS /ˈɑːrtəst/

a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

BachnounUS /bɑːk/

German baroque organist and contrapuntist; composed mostly keyboard music; one of the greatest creators of western music (1685-1750)

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Joses had been the result.

Dancer'snounUS /ˈdænsərz/

possessive form of “dancer” — a performer who dances professionally

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

dancing-girl

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

desertedadjectiveUS /dɪˈzɜːrtɪd/

forsaken by owner or inhabitants

From this reading The father shortly deserted the mother, who took to the music-hall stage.

extractionnounUS /ekˈstrækʃən/

the process of obtaining something from a mixture or compound by chemical or physical or mechanical means

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

fathernounUS /ˈfɑːðər/

a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)

From this reading The father shortly deserted the mother, who took to the music-hall stage.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

InprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

Joses

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

Marseillaisenoun

the French national anthem

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

matedadjectiveUS /ˈmeɪtɪd/

mated sexually

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

modelnounUS /ˈmɑːdəl/

a hypothetical description of a complex entity or process

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

mothernounUS /ˈmʌðər/

a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading The father shortly deserted the mother, who took to the music-hall stage.

music-hall

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The father shortly deserted the mother, who took to the music-hall stage.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

PortuguesenounUS /ˈpɔːrtʃəɡiːz/

the Romance language spoken in Portugal and Brazil

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

posedadjectiveUS /poʊzd/

arranged for pictorial purposes

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

resultnounUS /rɪˈzʌlt/

a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon

From this reading Joses had been the result.

Sebastian

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

shortlyadverbUS /ˈʃɔːrtli/

for a short time

From this reading The father shortly deserted the mother, who took to the music-hall stage.

SonnounUS /sʌn/

a male human offspring

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

stagenounUS /steɪdʒ/

any distinct time period in a sequence of events

From this reading The father shortly deserted the mother, who took to the music-hall stage.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading The father shortly deserted the mother, who took to the music-hall stage.

tookverbUS /tʊk/

inflected form of “take” — carry out

From this reading The father shortly deserted the mother, who took to the music-hall stage.

wanderernounUS /ˈwɑːndərər/

someone who leads a wandering unsettled life

From this reading The artist was a waster and a wanderer.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The Dancer's Son Sebastian Bach Joses was the son of an artist of Portuguese extraction.

wasternounUS /ˈweɪstər/

someone who dissipates resources self-indulgently

From this reading The artist was a waster and a wanderer.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

youthnounUS /juːθ/

a young person (especially a young man or boy)

From this reading In his youth he mated with a Marseillaise dancing-girl who had posed as his model.

Chapter 25 of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs by Alfred Ollivant holds 261 sentences, grouped into 53 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.

What does chapter 25 of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs contain?

Chapter 25 holds 261 sentences of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs, unabridged, divided into 53 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 25 of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs by Alfred Ollivant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 261 sentences, grouped into 53 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.

How do I study chapter 25 of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs?

Work through the 53 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 53 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.

Can chapter 25 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 25 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.

Questions about reading Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs

Common questions about reading Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs by Alfred Ollivant on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs?

Yes. All 7217 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17965 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #17965, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1444 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs section by section

How to work through Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 37 chapters of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs

Words and structures a reader meets early in Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Polefax
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Meeting
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Small
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Friendly
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Boy Woodburn: A Story of the Sussex Downs; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.