Chapter 17 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave. "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse. What have you to say for yourself?" Jimmy Skunk hung his head. He hadn't a word to say.
Chapter 17 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
bring an accusation against; level a charge against
From this reading “"Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.”
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading “"Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.”
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading “"Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.”
oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food
From this reading “"Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.”
flesh of any of various grouse of the family Tetraonidae; usually roasted; flesh too dry to broil
From this reading “"Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.”
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading “"Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.”
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading “"Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.”
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
From this reading “"Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.”
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 He hadn't a word to say.
bring an accusation against; level a charge against
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading What have you to say for yourself?"
death of a person
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
flesh of any of various grouse of the family Tetraonidae; usually roasted; flesh too dry to broil
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He hadn't a word to say.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading What have you to say for yourself?"
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He hadn't a word to say.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Jimmy Skunk hung his head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Jimmy Skunk hung his head.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Jimmy Skunk hung his head.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
express in words
From this reading What have you to say for yourself?"
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What have you to say for yourself?"
precisely as stated
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, and her voice was very stern, very stern indeed, and her face was very grave.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What have you to say for yourself?"
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading He hadn't a word to say.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Jimmy Skunk, I accuse you of having broken and eaten the eggs of Mrs. Grouse.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading What have you to say for yourself?"
Chapter 17 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf by Various holds 390 sentences, grouped into 78 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 17 holds 390 sentences of Boys and Girls Bookshelf, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf by Various exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 390 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 17 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 Boys and Girls Bookshelf by Various on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11613 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29386 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29386, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2323 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Boys and Girls Bookshelf section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Boys and Girls Bookshelf 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 Boys and Girls Bookshelf, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
