Chapter 10 of Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter 10 of Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS. One evening they made a rousing fire. Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes. Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins. Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
Chapter 10 of Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
plural of “basket” — a container that is usually woven and has handles
From this reading “Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.”
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading “Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.”
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading “Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.”
plural of “evening” — the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading “HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS.”
capable of arousing enthusiasm or excitement
From this reading “One evening they made a rousing fire.”
a particular situation
From this reading “Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.”
-ing form of “smooth” — make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing
From this reading “Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.”
the sound of light blow or knock
From this reading “Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.”
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.
In this reading “HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS.”
In this reading “Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.”
In this reading “Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.”
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 One evening they made a rousing fire.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
plural of “basket” — a container that is usually woven and has handles
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading One evening they made a rousing fire.
plural of “evening” — the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS.
start firing a weapon
From this reading One evening they made a rousing fire.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading One evening they made a rousing fire.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One evening they made a rousing fire.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS.
on the contrary
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
capable of arousing enthusiasm or excitement
From this reading One evening they made a rousing fire.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
a particular situation
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
-ing form of “smooth” — make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing
From this reading Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather smoothing it.
the sound of light blow or knock
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ben got out his shoemaker’s bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.
Damaged or thinned by continuous use.
From this reading Boots were not worn by them; they wore shoes and buskins.
Chapter 10 of Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island by Elijah Kellogg holds 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 10 holds 164 sentences of Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island by Elijah Kellogg exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 10 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 Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island by Elijah Kellogg on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3214 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51141 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51141, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 267 minutes of reading across 643 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island 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 Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
