Chapter 13 of Chit-Chat is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Chit-Chat is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Y" SERVICE. One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal. "Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me. I was born in 1885." Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
Chapter 13 of Chit-Chat is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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.
brought into existence
From this reading “I was born in 1885."”
a very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired
From this reading “One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.”
a document ordering the payment of money; drawn by one person or bank on another
From this reading “Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.”
plural of “get” — a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent
From this reading “"Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me.”
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading “One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.”
any address at which you dwell more than temporarily
From this reading “One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.”
the season of growth
From this reading “One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.”
being five more than thirty
From this reading “"Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I was born in 1885."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
how long something has existed
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
brought into existence
From this reading I was born in 1885."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
a very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
a document ordering the payment of money; drawn by one person or bank on another
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading "Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me.
start firing a weapon
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
plural of “get” — a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent
From this reading "Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
and nothing more
From this reading "Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
any address at which you dwell more than temporarily
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading "Y" SERVICE.
the season of growth
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading One evening in the spring of 1918 John Calhoun Saylor, ex-Congressman, sat before the open fire in the old Clay residence, reading the Courier-Journal.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
being five more than thirty
From this reading "Just as I expected, thirty-five, that gets me.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was born in 1885."
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Then he read to his wife that the draft age would be raised to thirty-five.
a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys
From this reading "Y" SERVICE.
Chapter 13 of Chit-Chat by Mathew Joseph Holt holds 253 sentences, grouped into 51 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 253 sentences of Chit-Chat, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Chit-Chat by Mathew Joseph Holt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 253 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 Chit-Chat by Mathew Joseph Holt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3602 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29071 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29071, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 300 minutes of reading across 721 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Chit-Chat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Chit-Chat 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 Chit-Chat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
