Chapter 27 of It Never Can Happen Again is here in full — 646 sentences across 130 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of It Never Can Happen Again is here in full — 646 sentences across 130 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OF MUTUAL MISTRUST. HANDSOME JUDITH! BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS. HOW MATTERS WERE COMFORTABLER. PLEASE BURN THAT POSTSCRIPT!
Chapter 27 of It Never Can Happen Again is here in full — 646 sentences across 130 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/129 · 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.
matters of personal concern
From this reading “BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.”
To consume or be consumed by fire.
From this reading “PLEASE BURN THAT POSTSCRIPT!”
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading “HANDSOME JUDITH!”
Jewish heroine in one of the books of the Apocrypha; she saved her people by decapitating the Assyrian general Holofernes
From this reading “HANDSOME JUDITH!”
regard as untrustworthy; regard with suspicion; have no faith or confidence in
From this reading “OF MUTUAL MISTRUST.”
common to or shared by two or more parties
From this reading “OF MUTUAL MISTRUST.”
a note appended to a letter after the signature
From this reading “PLEASE BURN THAT POSTSCRIPT!”
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading “BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.”
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 “BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.”
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.
matters of personal concern
From this reading BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.
To consume or be consumed by fire.
From this reading PLEASE BURN THAT POSTSCRIPT!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW MATTERS WERE COMFORTABLER.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading HANDSOME JUDITH!
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW MATTERS WERE COMFORTABLER.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.
Jewish heroine in one of the books of the Apocrypha; she saved her people by decapitating the Assyrian general Holofernes
From this reading HANDSOME JUDITH!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading HOW MATTERS WERE COMFORTABLER.
regard as untrustworthy; regard with suspicion; have no faith or confidence in
From this reading OF MUTUAL MISTRUST.
common to or shared by two or more parties
From this reading OF MUTUAL MISTRUST.
not any; not one
From this reading BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading OF MUTUAL MISTRUST.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading PLEASE BURN THAT POSTSCRIPT!
a note appended to a letter after the signature
From this reading PLEASE BURN THAT POSTSCRIPT!
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading PLEASE BURN THAT POSTSCRIPT!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading HOW MATTERS WERE COMFORTABLER.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading BUT MARIANNE HAD NO WISH TO PRY INTO HER AFFAIRS.
Chapter 27 of It Never Can Happen Again by William De Morgan holds 646 sentences, grouped into 130 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 27 holds 646 sentences of It Never Can Happen Again, unabridged, divided into 130 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of It Never Can Happen Again by William De Morgan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 646 sentences, grouped into 130 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 130 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 130 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 27 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 It Never Can Happen Again by William De Morgan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 19361 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46228 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46228, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3873 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through It Never Can Happen Again section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of It Never Can Happen Again 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 It Never Can Happen Again, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
