Chapter 11 of Cicely is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Cicely is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SHADOWS BEFORE. “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?” Christabel. TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time. Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
Chapter 11 of Cicely is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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.
a large and stately mansion
From this reading ““What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?””
past form of “closet” — confine to a small space, as for intensive work
From this reading “TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.”
to a great extent or degree
From this reading “Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.”
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading “Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.”
a unit of length equal to 220 yards
From this reading ““What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?””
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading ““What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?””
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading “SHADOWS BEFORE.”
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading ““What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?””
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 “TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.”
In this reading ““What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?””
In this reading “Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.”
move away from a place into another direction
In this reading “Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.”
In this reading “TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.”
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 “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading SHADOWS BEFORE.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
a large and stately mansion
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Christabel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
past form of “closet” — confine to a small space, as for intensive work
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
to a great extent or degree
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
a unit of length equal to 220 yards
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading SHADOWS BEFORE.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
at the time that
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading TREVOR called at Greystone the next day, and was closeted with Colonel Methvyn for some time.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Cicely and her cousin were in the house when he came, but, considerably to their surprise, he went away without seeing them.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading “What makes her in the wood so late, A furlong from the castle gate?”
Chapter 11 of Cicely by Mrs. Molesworth holds 372 sentences, grouped into 75 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 11 holds 372 sentences of Cicely, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Cicely by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 372 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 11 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 Cicely by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8830 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72219 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72219, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1766 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cicely section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Cicely 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 Cicely, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
