Chapter 9 of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees is here in full — 513 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees is here in full — 513 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights? And if I were to court her bosom . Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
Chapter 9 of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees is here in full — 513 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/102 · 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.
decorate
From this reading ““If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?”
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading ““If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?”
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading “And if I were to court her bosom .”
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading ““If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?”
plural of “right” — an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
From this reading ““If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?”
serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading “Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!”
(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading ““If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?”
United States actress and singer (1896-1977)
From this reading “Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!”
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 “Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!”
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 “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
decorate
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading And if I were to court her bosom .
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading And if I were to court her bosom .
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
plural of “right” — an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And if I were to court her bosom .
a merchant who undertakes a trading venture (especially a venture that sends goods overseas)
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
United States actress and singer (1896-1977)
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading And if I were to court her bosom .
in the company of; together with
From this reading “If I bedeck the bosom of England and star it with flowers, do I do better than Germain with his money, or Duplessis with his rights?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Oh, my brown-eyed venturer in deep waters, I could serve you well!
Chapter 9 of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees by Maurice Hewlett holds 513 sentences, grouped into 103 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 9 holds 513 sentences of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees, unabridged, divided into 103 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees by Maurice Hewlett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 513 sentences, grouped into 103 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 103 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 103 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 9 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 Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees by Maurice Hewlett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8241 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59963 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59963, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1649 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees 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 Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
