Chapter 17 of Clipped Wings is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Clipped Wings is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
That night Sheila went to bed to sleep out sleep. When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?” Sheila answered, “I won’t be called at all, please!” This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress. There would be no rehearsal on the morrow for her.
Chapter 17 of Clipped Wings is here in full — 198 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.
disposed or placed in a particular kind of order
From this reading “When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?””
elegance by virtue of fineness of manner and expression
From this reading “This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.”
the next day
From this reading “There would be no rehearsal on the morrow for her.”
a special advantage or immunity or benefit not enjoyed by all
From this reading “This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.”
a practice session in preparation for a public performance (as of a play or speech or concert)
From this reading “There would be no rehearsal on the morrow for her.”
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading “When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?””
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading “This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.”
a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with
From this reading “This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.”
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 “There would be no rehearsal on the morrow for her.”
In this reading “When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?””
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 This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
(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 Sheila answered, “I won’t be called at all, please!”
Having no one else present.
From this reading This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Sheila answered, “I won’t be called at all, please!”
disposed or placed in a particular kind of order
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading That night Sheila went to bed to sleep out sleep.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
elegance by virtue of fineness of manner and expression
From this reading This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Sheila answered, “I won’t be called at all, please!”
a working woman who takes in washing
From this reading This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
the act of departing
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
the next day
From this reading There would be no rehearsal on the morrow for her.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading That night Sheila went to bed to sleep out sleep.
not any; not one
From this reading There would be no rehearsal on the morrow for her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading That night Sheila went to bed to sleep out sleep.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
a special advantage or immunity or benefit not enjoyed by all
From this reading This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
a practice session in preparation for a public performance (as of a play or speech or concert)
From this reading There would be no rehearsal on the morrow for her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That night Sheila went to bed to sleep out sleep.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading That night Sheila went to bed to sleep out sleep.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That night Sheila went to bed to sleep out sleep.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
in or at that place or location
From this reading There would be no rehearsal on the morrow for her.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with
From this reading This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That night Sheila went to bed to sleep out sleep.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This privilege alone was like a title of gentility to a tired laundress.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading That night Sheila went to bed to sleep out sleep.
at the time that
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sheila answered, “I won’t be called at all, please!”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading There would be no rehearsal on the morrow for her.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading When Pennock asked, on leaving her arranged for slumber, “Will you be called at the usual hour, please?”
Chapter 17 of Clipped Wings by Rupert Hughes holds 198 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 17 holds 198 sentences of Clipped Wings, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Clipped Wings by Rupert Hughes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 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 17 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 Clipped Wings by Rupert Hughes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8610 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60037 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60037, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1722 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Clipped Wings section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Clipped Wings 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 Clipped Wings, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
