Chapter 15 of Jo's Boys is here in full — 81 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Jo's Boys is here in full — 81 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January. 'Please tell it at once. I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely. 'But we must wait and hope, heart's-dearest. Come and let us bear it together.
Chapter 15 of Jo's Boys is here in full — 81 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
have
From this reading “I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.”
in a courageous manner
From this reading “I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.”
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading “I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.”
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading “'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.”
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
From this reading “'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.”
information about recent and important events
From this reading “'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.”
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading 'Please tell it at once.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
have
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
in a courageous manner
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading 'But we must wait and hope, heart's-dearest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come and let us bear it together.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'But we must wait and hope, heart's-dearest.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading 'But we must wait and hope, heart's-dearest.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading 'Please tell it at once.
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Come and let us bear it together.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading 'But we must wait and hope, heart's-dearest.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
information about recent and important events
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
on one occasion
From this reading 'Please tell it at once.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading 'Please tell it at once.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
having a supporting base
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
carry out
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
express in words
From this reading 'Please tell it at once.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Come and let us bear it together.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Come and let us bear it together.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading 'But we must wait and hope, heart's-dearest.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading 'My wife, I have bad news for thee,' said Professor Bhaer, coming in one day early in January.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading I can't bear to wait, Fritz,' cried Mrs Jo, dropping her work and standing up as if to take the shot bravely.
Chapter 15 of Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott holds 81 sentences, grouped into 17 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 15 holds 81 sentences of Jo's Boys, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 81 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 15 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 Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4214 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3499 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3499, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 351 minutes of reading across 843 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Jo's Boys section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Jo's Boys 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 Jo's Boys, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
