Chapter 6 of Comic Tragedies is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Comic Tragedies is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ber. 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates. Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home. Courage, my child, and haste thee. I will prepare all for our flight.
Chapter 6 of Comic Tragedies is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
the first light of day
From this reading “'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.”
an old word for “before”
From this reading “'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.”
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading “I will prepare all for our flight.”
United States computer entrepreneur whose software company made him the youngest multi-billionaire in the history of the United States (born in 1955)
From this reading “'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.”
someone employed to conduct others
From this reading “Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.”
comparative of “happy” — enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading “Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.”
overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)
From this reading “Courage, my child, and haste thee.”
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading “I will prepare all for our flight.”
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 “'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.”
In this reading “Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.”
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 Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
(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 I will prepare all for our flight.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ber.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
a young person of either sex
From this reading Courage, my child, and haste thee.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear
From this reading Courage, my child, and haste thee.
the first light of day
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
an old word for “before”
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading I will prepare all for our flight.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I will prepare all for our flight.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
United States computer entrepreneur whose software company made him the youngest multi-billionaire in the history of the United States (born in 1955)
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
someone employed to conduct others
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
comparative of “happy” — enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)
From this reading Courage, my child, and haste thee.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I will prepare all for our flight.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
on one occasion
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading I will prepare all for our flight.
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading I will prepare all for our flight.
try to get or reach
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading Courage, my child, and haste thee.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Selim shall guide us, and once free, together we will seek another and a happier home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Tis well; and now, my Zara, ere the dawn of another day we must be far beyond the city gates.
Chapter 6 of Comic Tragedies by Louisa May Alcott holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 6 holds 432 sentences of Comic Tragedies, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Comic Tragedies by Louisa May Alcott exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 6 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 Comic Tragedies by Louisa May Alcott on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4770 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33986 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33986, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 397 minutes of reading across 954 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Comic Tragedies section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Comic Tragedies 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 Comic Tragedies, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
