Chapter 40 of His Family is here in full — 58 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of His Family is here in full — 58 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
And his dreams were of children. Their faces passed before him. Now they were young again in the house. They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies. From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.
Chapter 40 of His Family is here in full — 58 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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 rapid series of noises made by the parts of a machine
From this reading “They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.”
plural of “dream” — a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep
From this reading “And his dreams were of children.”
the act of consuming food
From this reading “They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.”
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading “Their faces passed before him.”
plural of “magpie” — long-tailed black-and-white crow that utters a raucous chattering call
From this reading “They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.”
with low volume
From this reading “From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.”
plural of “supper” — a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading “They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.”
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.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.
anew
From this reading Now they were young again in the house.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And his dreams were of children.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Their faces passed before him.
the rapid series of noises made by the parts of a machine
From this reading They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading And his dreams were of children.
plural of “dream” — a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep
From this reading And his dreams were of children.
the act of consuming food
From this reading They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Their faces passed before him.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Their faces passed before him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And his dreams were of children.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Now they were young again in the house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Now they were young again in the house.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.
plural of “magpie” — long-tailed black-and-white crow that utters a raucous chattering call
From this reading They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now they were young again in the house.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And his dreams were of children.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Their faces passed before him.
with low volume
From this reading From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.
plural of “supper” — a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading From her end of the table their mother smiled quietly across at him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now they were young again in the house.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Their faces passed before him.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Now they were young again in the house.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading They were eating their suppers, three small girls, chattering like magpies.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading And his dreams were of children.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Now they were young again in the house.
Chapter 40 of His Family by Ernest Poole holds 58 sentences, grouped into 12 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 40 holds 58 sentences of His Family, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of His Family by Ernest Poole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 58 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 40 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 His Family by Ernest Poole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7834 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14396 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14396, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1567 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through His Family section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of His Family 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 His Family, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
