Chapter 10 of Hidden Country is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Hidden Country is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly. “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report. “Nothing doing. She’s gone. Now what in the world are we going to do?
Chapter 10 of Hidden Country is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
next to; at the side of
From this reading “Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.”
a large smooth mass of rock detached from its place of origin
From this reading “Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.”
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading “Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.”
inflected form of “pat” — pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading “Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.”
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading ““I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.”
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading “Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.”
past form of “slump” — assume a drooping posture or carriage
From this reading “Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.”
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading “Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.”
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 “Now what in the world are we going to do?”
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 Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Now what in the world are we going to do?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
a large smooth mass of rock detached from its place of origin
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Now what in the world are we going to do?
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading “Nothing doing.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
the act of departing
From this reading Now what in the world are we going to do?
destroyed or killed
From this reading She’s gone.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Now what in the world are we going to do?
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading “Nothing doing.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
inflected form of “pat” — pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She’s gone.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
past form of “slump” — assume a drooping posture or carriage
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now what in the world are we going to do?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Now what in the world are we going to do?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Now what in the world are we going to do?
at the time that
From this reading “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.
which person or people
From this reading Betty now was sitting beside George, who had slumped down against a boulder, and was patting his hand and talking to him assuringly.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading Now what in the world are we going to do?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I told you so,” he whined when I made my report.
Chapter 10 of Hidden Country by Henry Oyen holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 10 holds 410 sentences of Hidden Country, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Hidden Country by Henry Oyen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 10 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 Hidden Country by Henry Oyen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5771 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66215 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66215, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 480 minutes of reading across 1155 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hidden Country section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Hidden Country 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 Hidden Country, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
