Chapter 28 of Cicely is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of Cicely is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A SOUTHERN WINTER. “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.” * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.” Ballad. NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
Chapter 28 of Cicely is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/61 · 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 narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading “Ballad.”
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading “* * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.””
a state in which you want to learn more about something
From this reading “NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.”
plural of “lily” — any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading ““Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.””
deliver by singing
From this reading ““Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.””
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading “NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.”
in or characteristic of a region of the United States south of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading “A SOUTHERN WINTER.”
be dressed in
From this reading “* * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.””
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.
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 SOUTHERN WINTER.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading Ballad.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
have
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
lacking funds
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
a state in which you want to learn more about something
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
dearly loved
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
plural of “lily” — any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
hear with intention
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
not any; not one
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
characterized by or showing the suppression of impulses or emotions
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
deliver by singing
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
in or characteristic of a region of the United States south of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading A SOUTHERN WINTER.
the season of growth
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading NO sooner had the door closed on Cicely and her little cousin than Mrs. Crichton’s pent-up curiosity broke forth.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
look attentively
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
be dressed in
From this reading * * * * * * “The lilies shall be for thy brow to wear, The linnets shall sing of the love I bear.”
in or at the place that
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading A SOUTHERN WINTER.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Listen how the linnets sing, Cicely dear; Watch you where the lilies spring, Cicely sweet.”
Chapter 28 of Cicely by Mrs. Molesworth holds 305 sentences, grouped into 61 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 28 holds 305 sentences of Cicely, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of Cicely by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 305 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 28 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.
