Chapter 13 of Cheerful—By Request is here in full — 377 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Cheerful—By Request is here in full — 377 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh. "I didn't hardly hear it. I was busy promising him a licking from Jo." Sadie Corn opened the door. "Come on down the hall.
Chapter 13 of Cheerful—By Request is here in full — 377 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “I was busy promising him a licking from Jo."”
tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times
From this reading “Sadie Corn opened the door.”
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading “"Come on down the hall.”
the sound of laughing
From this reading “A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.”
an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest
From this reading “I was busy promising him a licking from Jo."”
showing possibility of achievement or excellence
From this reading “I was busy promising him a licking from Jo."”
weep convulsively
From this reading “A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.”
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading “A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.”
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 A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading I was busy promising him a licking from Jo."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come on down the hall.
tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times
From this reading Sadie Corn opened the door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I didn't hardly hear it.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Sadie Corn opened the door.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "Come on down the hall.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I was busy promising him a licking from Jo."
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading "Come on down the hall.
only a very short time before
From this reading "I didn't hardly hear it.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "I didn't hardly hear it.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I was busy promising him a licking from Jo."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I didn't hardly hear it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I was busy promising him a licking from Jo."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
the sound of laughing
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest
From this reading I was busy promising him a licking from Jo."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Come on down the hall.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Sadie Corn opened the door.
showing possibility of achievement or excellence
From this reading I was busy promising him a licking from Jo."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sadie Corn opened the door.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
weep convulsively
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading A sob caught Julia in the throat, but she turned it into a laugh.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was busy promising him a licking from Jo."
Chapter 13 of Cheerful—By Request by Edna Ferber holds 377 sentences, grouped into 76 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 13 holds 377 sentences of Cheerful—By Request, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Cheerful—By Request by Edna Ferber exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 377 sentences, grouped into 76 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 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 76 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 13 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 Cheerful—By Request by Edna Ferber on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7249 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11395 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11395, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1450 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cheerful—By Request section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Cheerful—By Request 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 Cheerful—By Request, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
