Chapter 15 of Dr. Breen's Practice is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Dr. Breen's Practice is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Where are you going this morning?” “To Jocelyn’s.” Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye. “What makes you think she’ll have you?” He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
Chapter 15 of Dr. Breen's Practice is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
rid of obstructions
From this reading “He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.”
the organ of sight
From this reading “Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.”
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading ““What makes you think she’ll have you?””
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading “Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.”
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading “He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.”
wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading “He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.”
possessive form of “son” — a male human offspring
successive (without a break)
From this reading “He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Where are you going this morning?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
rid of obstructions
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
the organ of sight
From this reading Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.
the act of departing
From this reading “Where are you going this morning?”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “What makes you think she’ll have you?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “To Jocelyn’s.”
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading “What makes you think she’ll have you?”
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.
a particular point in time
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading “Where are you going this morning?”
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What makes you think she’ll have you?”
wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
possessive form of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.
successive (without a break)
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “What makes you think she’ll have you?”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “Where are you going this morning?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “To Jocelyn’s.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Mrs. Mulbridge now looked up, and met her son’s eye.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading He did not shrink at her coming straight to the point the moment the way was clear.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What makes you think she’ll have you?”
in or at the place that
From this reading “Where are you going this morning?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Where are you going this morning?”
Chapter 15 of Dr. Breen's Practice by William Dean Howells holds 216 sentences, grouped into 44 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 15 holds 216 sentences of Dr. Breen's Practice, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Dr. Breen's Practice by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 216 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 15 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 Dr. Breen's Practice by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3880 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3364 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3364, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 323 minutes of reading across 776 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dr. Breen's Practice section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Dr. Breen's Practice 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 Dr. Breen's Practice, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
