Chapter 17 of Grif: A Story of Australian Life is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Grif: A Story of Australian Life is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BAD LUCK. "It is of no use, Tom; luck is dead against us." "It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy. Faint heart you know." Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
Chapter 17 of Grif: A Story of Australian Life is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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 quality of being cheerful and dispelling gloom
From this reading “Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.”
someone who is a detective
From this reading “"It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.”
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading “Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.”
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading “Faint heart you know."”
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading “"It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.”
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading “BAD LUCK.”
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading “Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.”
a native or resident of Wales
From this reading “Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.”
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.
an unfortunate state resulting from unfavorable outcomes
In this reading “BAD LUCK.”
In this reading “Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.”
In this reading “Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.”
a familiar term of address for a man
In this reading “"It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.”
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 Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading "It is of no use, Tom; luck is dead against us."
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading "It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading BAD LUCK.
a youthful male person
From this reading "It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.
the quality of being cheerful and dispelling gloom
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading "It is of no use, Tom; luck is dead against us."
someone who is a detective
From this reading "It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading Faint heart you know."
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Faint heart you know."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It is of no use, Tom; luck is dead against us."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is of no use, Tom; luck is dead against us."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Faint heart you know."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading "It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading BAD LUCK.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading "It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.
not any; not one
From this reading "It is of no use, Tom; luck is dead against us."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "It is of no use, Tom; luck is dead against us."
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "It almost looks like it, Dick; but never mind, old boy.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
male cat
From this reading "It is of no use, Tom; luck is dead against us."
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "It is of no use, Tom; luck is dead against us."
the act of using
From this reading "It is of no use, Tom; luck is dead against us."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
a native or resident of Wales
From this reading Although Welsh Tom said this in a tone of cheerfulness, there was a serious expression on his face.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Faint heart you know."
Chapter 17 of Grif: A Story of Australian Life by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon holds 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 17 holds 213 sentences of Grif: A Story of Australian Life, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Grif: A Story of Australian Life by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 17 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 Grif: A Story of Australian Life by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7559 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45919 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45919, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1512 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Grif: A Story of Australian Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Grif: A Story of Australian Life 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 Grif: A Story of Australian Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
