Chapter 13 of Claire is here in full — 242 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Claire is here in full — 242 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FAINT HEART AND FAIR LADY. Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think. It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities. When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look. "Lawrence!"
Chapter 13 of Claire is here in full — 242 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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 “age” — how long something has existed
From this reading “It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.”
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.”
plural of “calamity” — an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading “It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.”
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading “FAINT HEART AND FAIR LADY.”
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading “When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look.”
the formation of a mental image of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses
From this reading “It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.”
Roman martyr; supposedly Lawrence was ordered by the police to give up the church's treasure and when he responded by presenting the poor people of Rome he was roasted to death on a gridiron (died in 258)
From this reading “"Lawrence!"”
Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921)
From this reading “Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.”
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 “FAINT HEART AND FAIR LADY.”
In this reading “When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look.”
In this reading “It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.”
In this reading “Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.”
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 It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look.
plural of “age” — how long something has existed
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading FAINT HEART AND FAIR LADY.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
plural of “calamity” — an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading FAINT HEART AND FAIR LADY.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading FAINT HEART AND FAIR LADY.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading FAINT HEART AND FAIR LADY.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
ten 10s
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
the formation of a mental image of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading FAINT HEART AND FAIR LADY.
Roman martyr; supposedly Lawrence was ordered by the police to give up the church's treasure and when he responded by presenting the poor people of Rome he was roasted to death on a gridiron (died in 258)
From this reading "Lawrence!"
go away from a place
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look.
Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921)
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
capable of happening or existing
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
in or at that place or location
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Claire heard Philip leave the house, and she sat down on her bed to wait and think.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look.
at the time that
From this reading When she finally heard the door open she was almost afraid to look.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It seemed ages that she sat there, her imagination busy with a hundred possible calamities.
Chapter 13 of Claire by Leslie Burton Blades holds 242 sentences, grouped into 49 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 242 sentences of Claire, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Claire by Leslie Burton Blades exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 242 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 Claire by Leslie Burton Blades on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4746 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30261 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30261, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 395 minutes of reading across 950 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Claire section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Claire 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 Claire, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
