Chapter 9 of How to Amuse Yourself and Others is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of How to Amuse Yourself and Others is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A GIRL’S FOURTH OF JULY. DECORATIONS are seen here, there, and everywhere. How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze. All the houses and streets are gay with bunting. We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
Chapter 9 of How to Amuse Yourself and Others is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
affected manners intended to impress others
From this reading “We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.”
plural of “band” — an unofficial association of people or groups
From this reading “We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.”
a loosely woven fabric used for flags, etc.
From this reading “All the houses and streets are gay with bunting.”
plural of “decoration” — something used to beautify
From this reading “DECORATIONS are seen here, there, and everywhere.”
plural of “flag” — emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design
From this reading “How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.”
plural of “parade” — a ceremonial procession including people marching
From this reading “We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.”
inspired by love for your country
From this reading “We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.”
plural of “streamer” — light that streams
From this reading “How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.”
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 “We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.”
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 A GIRL’S FOURTH OF JULY.
affected manners intended to impress others
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All the houses and streets are gay with bunting.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading DECORATIONS are seen here, there, and everywhere.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading DECORATIONS are seen here, there, and everywhere.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
plural of “band” — an unofficial association of people or groups
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
in a beautiful manner
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
a loosely woven fabric used for flags, etc.
From this reading All the houses and streets are gay with bunting.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
plural of “decoration” — something used to beautify
From this reading DECORATIONS are seen here, there, and everywhere.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
to or in any or all places
From this reading DECORATIONS are seen here, there, and everywhere.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
plural of “flag” — emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
following the third position; number four in a countable series
From this reading A GIRL’S FOURTH OF JULY.
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading All the houses and streets are gay with bunting.
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading A GIRL’S FOURTH OF JULY.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading DECORATIONS are seen here, there, and everywhere.
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading All the houses and streets are gay with bunting.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
the month following June and preceding August
From this reading A GIRL’S FOURTH OF JULY.
hear with intention
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
of or relating to or belonging to a nation or country
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A GIRL’S FOURTH OF JULY.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
plural of “parade” — a ceremonial procession including people marching
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
go across or through
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
inspired by love for your country
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
(of games) engaged in
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading DECORATIONS are seen here, there, and everywhere.
plural of “streamer” — light that streams
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
plural of “street” — a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading All the houses and streets are gay with bunting.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
in or at that place or location
From this reading DECORATIONS are seen here, there, and everywhere.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
the swift release of a store of affective force
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading How beautifully the flags and streamers look as they wave in the breeze.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We listen with a thrill of patriotic excitement to the national airs played by bands of music as the different parades pass our doors.
in the company of; together with
From this reading All the houses and streets are gay with bunting.
Chapter 9 of How to Amuse Yourself and Others by Lina Beard holds 149 sentences, grouped into 30 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 149 sentences of How to Amuse Yourself and Others, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of How to Amuse Yourself and Others by Lina Beard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 149 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 How to Amuse Yourself and Others by Lina Beard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3746 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52051 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52051, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 312 minutes of reading across 750 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through How to Amuse Yourself and Others section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of How to Amuse Yourself and Others 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 How to Amuse Yourself and Others, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
