Chapter 6 of John Bull's Other Island is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of John Bull's Other Island is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LARRY. Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor. BROADBENT [suddenly very solemn]. Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed. Think of that in a country where every man is a born humorist!
Chapter 6 of John Bull's Other Island is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
temporary cessation or suspension
From this reading “Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.”
past form of “confess” — confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure
From this reading “Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.”
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading “Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.”
someone who acts speaks or writes in an amusing way
From this reading “Think of that in a country where every man is a born humorist!”
owning or consisting of land or real estate
From this reading “Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.”
being perceived or observed
From this reading “Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.”
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading “BROADBENT [suddenly very solemn].”
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.”
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 Think of that in a country where every man is a born humorist!
temporary cessation or suspension
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
brought into existence
From this reading Think of that in a country where every man is a born humorist!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BROADBENT [suddenly very solemn].
past form of “confess” — confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading Think of that in a country where every man is a born humorist!
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Think of that in a country where every man is a born humorist!
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
someone who acts speaks or writes in an amusing way
From this reading Think of that in a country where every man is a born humorist!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
owning or consisting of land or real estate
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LARRY.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Think of that in a country where every man is a born humorist!
a particular point in time
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
not any; not one
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
being perceived or observed
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
and nothing more
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading BROADBENT [suddenly very solemn].
happening unexpectedly
From this reading BROADBENT [suddenly very solemn].
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Think of that in a country where every man is a born humorist!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
precisely as stated
From this reading BROADBENT [suddenly very solemn].
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
in or at the place that
From this reading Think of that in a country where every man is a born humorist!
an affirmative
From this reading Yes: their sense of humor is in abeyance: I noticed it the moment we landed.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Only this morning you confessed how surprised you were to find that the people here showed no sense of humor.
Chapter 6 of John Bull's Other Island by Bernard Shaw holds 433 sentences, grouped into 87 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 6 holds 433 sentences of John Bull's Other Island, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of John Bull's Other Island by Bernard Shaw exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 433 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 6 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 John Bull's Other Island by Bernard Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3400 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3612 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3612, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 283 minutes of reading across 680 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through John Bull's Other Island section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of John Bull's Other Island 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 John Bull's Other Island, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
