Chapter 24 of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays is here in full — 923 sentences across 185 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays is here in full — 923 sentences across 185 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_]. His woman ... his LOVE. [_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil! CAREN. What's the matter with you, Softy?
Chapter 24 of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays is here in full — 923 sentences across 185 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/184 · 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 “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].”
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading “[_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!”
-ing form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “[_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!”
the local environment
From this reading “KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].”
-ing form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
to a small degree or extent
in the direction of
From this reading “[_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!”
plural of “walk” — the act of traveling by foot
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.
someone you feel sorry for
In this reading “[_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!”
In this reading “[_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!”
In this reading “[_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!”
In this reading “KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].”
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 KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CAREN.
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading [_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading [_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!
-ing form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading [_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His woman ... his LOVE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading His woman ... his LOVE.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading What's the matter with you, Softy?
the local environment
From this reading KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading [_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!
-ing form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading [_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!
to a small degree or extent
From this reading KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].
a person who is weak and excessively sentimental
From this reading What's the matter with you, Softy?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].
in the direction of
From this reading [_Sighing and glancing towards the door_.] Poor devil!
plural of “walk” — the act of traveling by foot
From this reading KRAIG [_walks to the black curtains and parts them slightly_].
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What's the matter with you, Softy?
in the company of; together with
From this reading What's the matter with you, Softy?
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading His woman ... his LOVE.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What's the matter with you, Softy?
Chapter 24 of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays by Frank [Editor] Shay holds 923 sentences, grouped into 185 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 24 holds 923 sentences of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays, unabridged, divided into 185 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays by Frank [Editor] Shay exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 923 sentences, grouped into 185 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 185 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 185 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 24 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 Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays by Frank [Editor] Shay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 35466 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36984 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36984, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 7094 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays 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 Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
