Chapter 18 of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He was very kind, as he had always been. “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.” Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report. Three thousand a year? Porchfield?
Chapter 18 of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
in mental comfort; without stress
From this reading ““You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.””
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading “Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.”
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading ““You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.””
showing regard for others in manners, speech, behavior, etc.
From this reading “Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.”
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading ““You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.””
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading “Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.”
inflected form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.”
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading “Three thousand a year?”
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 ““You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.””
In this reading “Three thousand a year?”
In this reading “Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.”
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 Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading He was very kind, as he had always been.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He was very kind, as he had always been.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He was very kind, as he had always been.
in mental comfort; without stress
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He was very kind, as he had always been.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was very kind, as he had always been.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading He was very kind, as he had always been.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.
not any; not one
From this reading Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.
showing regard for others in manners, speech, behavior, etc.
From this reading Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Porchfield?
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
express in words
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
inflected form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Mary had shown no more than a polite interest in his report.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading Three thousand a year?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Three thousand a year?
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
precisely as stated
From this reading He was very kind, as he had always been.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was very kind, as he had always been.
during the time that
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading Three thousand a year?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You will be very comfortably left, you see, Mary,” he said, “at any rate, let us say, while you are looking about you.”
Chapter 18 of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees by Maurice Hewlett holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 18 holds 417 sentences of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Halfway House: A Comedy of Degrees by Maurice Hewlett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 18 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.
