Chapter 2 of English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Page 1. King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2. Captain Wedderburn's Courtship 11 3. Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom 18 4. King Edward Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth 21 5.
Chapter 2 of English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/6 · 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 superior of an abbey of monks
From this reading “King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.”
very pleasing to the eye
From this reading “Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom 18 4.”
a cleaning implement for sweeping; bundle of straws or twigs attached to a long handle
From this reading “Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom 18 4.”
a town in Kent in southeastern England; site of the cathedral where Thomas a Becket was martyred in 1170; seat of the archbishop and primate of the Anglican Church
From this reading “King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.”
a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage)
From this reading “Captain Wedderburn's Courtship 11 3.”
King of England and Ireland in 1936; his marriage to Wallis Warfield Simpson created a constitutional crisis leading to his abdication (1894-1972)
From this reading “King Edward Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth 21 5.”
following the third position; number four in a countable series
From this reading “King Edward Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth 21 5.”
a small coin of the United Kingdom worth six pennies; not minted since 1970
From this reading “King Edward Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth 21 5.”
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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Page 1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Wedderburn's Courtship 11 3.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom 18 4.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading King Edward Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth 21 5.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom 18 4.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading King Edward Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth 21 5.
the superior of an abbey of monks
From this reading King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom 18 4.
very pleasing to the eye
From this reading Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom 18 4.
a cleaning implement for sweeping; bundle of straws or twigs attached to a long handle
From this reading Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom 18 4.
a town in Kent in southeastern England; site of the cathedral where Thomas a Becket was martyred in 1170; seat of the archbishop and primate of the Anglican Church
From this reading King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Wedderburn's Courtship 11 3.
a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage)
From this reading Captain Wedderburn's Courtship 11 3.
King of England and Ireland in 1936; his marriage to Wallis Warfield Simpson created a constitutional crisis leading to his abdication (1894-1972)
From this reading King Edward Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth 21 5.
following the third position; number four in a countable series
From this reading King Edward Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth 21 5.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom 18 4.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.
one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading Page 1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading King Edward Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth 21 5.
a small coin of the United Kingdom worth six pennies; not minted since 1970
From this reading King Edward Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth 21 5.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading King John and the Abbot of Canterbury 3 2.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom 18 4.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Wedderburn's Courtship 11 3.
Chapter 2 of English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII by Francis James [Editor] Child holds 30 sentences, grouped into 6 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 2 holds 30 sentences of English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII by Francis James [Editor] Child exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 30 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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 2 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 English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII by Francis James [Editor] Child on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4054 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43825 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43825, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 337 minutes of reading across 811 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII 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 English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VIII, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
