Chapter 21 of Claire is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Claire is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
INTO THE SUNLIGHT. All that day they talked little. Both were occupied with their own thoughts. Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be. Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
Chapter 21 of Claire is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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 “being” — the state or fact of existing
From this reading “Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."”
imaginative thoughts indulged in while awake
From this reading “Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.”
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 was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.”
possessive form of “lawrence” — 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 “Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."”
held or filled or in use
From this reading “Both were occupied with their own thoughts.”
deeply or seriously thoughtful
From this reading “Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."”
the rays of the sun
From this reading “INTO THE SUNLIGHT.”
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading “All that day they talked little.”
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 “Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."”
In this reading “Both were occupied with their own thoughts.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All that day they talked little.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
plural of “being” — the state or fact of existing
From this reading Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
the two together, not just one
From this reading Both were occupied with their own thoughts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading All that day they talked little.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
imaginative thoughts indulged in while awake
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
yet to be or coming
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
moving to the inside of something
From this reading INTO THE SUNLIGHT.
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 was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
possessive form of “lawrence” — 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 Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading All that day they talked little.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
held or filled or in use
From this reading Both were occupied with their own thoughts.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Both were occupied with their own thoughts.
deeply or seriously thoughtful
From this reading Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
the rays of the sun
From this reading INTO THE SUNLIGHT.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading All that day they talked little.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading All that day they talked little.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading INTO THE SUNLIGHT.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Both were occupied with their own thoughts.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading All that day they talked little.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Both were occupied with their own thoughts.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Both were occupied with their own thoughts.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Both were occupied with their own thoughts.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Claire was pondering Lawrence's words, "Human beings think many things they don't and can't do."
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Lawrence was dreaming of his work, his future with Claire, and the home that was to be.
Chapter 21 of Claire by Leslie Burton Blades holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 21 holds 197 sentences of Claire, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Claire by Leslie Burton Blades exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 21 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.
