Chapter 22 of Half loaves is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of Half loaves is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily. That was what surprised her so much. She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving. But they did not materialize. There were a few very bad nights at first.
Chapter 22 of Half loaves is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
move forward, also in the metaphorical sense
From this reading “She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.”
possessive form of “dick” — someone who is a detective
past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading “She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.”
come into being; become reality
From this reading “But they did not materialize.”
easily agitated
From this reading “She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.”
Periods of darkness between sunset and sunrise.
From this reading “There were a few very bad nights at first.”
plural of “stress” — the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
From this reading “She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.”
experiencing intense pain especially mental pain
From this reading “She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading There were a few very bad nights at first.
move forward, also in the metaphorical sense
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading There were a few very bad nights at first.
terminate
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But they did not materialize.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
possessive form of “dick” — someone who is a detective
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But they did not materialize.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading There were a few very bad nights at first.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading There were a few very bad nights at first.
to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading That was what surprised her so much.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
the act of departing
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
come into being; become reality
From this reading But they did not materialize.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading That was what surprised her so much.
easily agitated
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
Periods of darkness between sunset and sunrise.
From this reading There were a few very bad nights at first.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But they did not materialize.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading That was what surprised her so much.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
plural of “stress” — the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading That was what surprised her so much.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But they did not materialize.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
experiencing intense pain especially mental pain
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
precisely as stated
From this reading There were a few very bad nights at first.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no doubt that at the start the break meant peace to Cecily.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were a few very bad nights at first.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading That was what surprised her so much.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She had tortured herself in advance with the thought of those nervous stresses which she imagined would follow Dick’s leaving.
Chapter 22 of Half loaves by Margaret Culkin Banning holds 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 22 holds 165 sentences of Half loaves, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of Half loaves by Margaret Culkin Banning exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 22 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 Half loaves by Margaret Culkin Banning on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Half loaves section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Half loaves 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 Half loaves, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
