Chapter 29 of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays is here in full — 721 sentences across 145 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIX
Chapter 29 of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays is here in full — 721 sentences across 145 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HAROLD. Good God! [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting. ANNE. Oh, that was easy.
Chapter 29 of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays is here in full — 721 sentences across 145 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/144 · 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.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading “ANNE.”
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading “[_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.”
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “Oh, that was easy.”
plural of “gaze” — a long fixed look
From this reading “[_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.”
something written by hand
From this reading “[_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.”
the literary culture
From this reading “[_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.”
the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal
From this reading “[_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.”
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading “[_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.”
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 “[_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.”
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.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading ANNE.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading Oh, that was easy.
plural of “gaze” — a long fixed look
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading Good God!
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Good God!
something written by hand
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HAROLD.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
the literary culture
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, that was easy.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
as if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Oh, that was easy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [_He gazes at the litter of letters on the desk in stupefied silence._] But the handwriting.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Oh, that was easy.
Chapter 29 of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays by Frank [Editor] Shay holds 721 sentences, grouped into 145 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 29 holds 721 sentences of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays, unabridged, divided into 145 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 29 of Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays by Frank [Editor] Shay exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 721 sentences, grouped into 145 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 145 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 145 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 29 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.
