Chapter 11 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“But it is so dark, and so deep. Can’t I help you, John?” He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them. “What have you in the room, Barbe?” “There are the sheets on the bed.”
Chapter 11 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading ““There are the sheets on the bed.””
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading ““But it is so dark, and so deep.”
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading “He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “Can’t I help you, John?””
come together
From this reading “He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.”
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading “He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.”
plural of “sheet” — any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading ““There are the sheets on the bed.””
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading “He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.”
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 ““There are the sheets on the bed.””
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 “But it is so dark, and so deep.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “There are the sheets on the bed.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What have you in the room, Barbe?”
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading “There are the sheets on the bed.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But it is so dark, and so deep.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Can’t I help you, John?”
absence of light or illumination
From this reading “But it is so dark, and so deep.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading “But it is so dark, and so deep.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “What have you in the room, Barbe?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Can’t I help you, John?”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Can’t I help you, John?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “What have you in the room, Barbe?”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “But it is so dark, and so deep.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “But it is so dark, and so deep.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading Can’t I help you, John?”
come together
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “There are the sheets on the bed.”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading “What have you in the room, Barbe?”
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
plural of “sheet” — any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading “There are the sheets on the bed.”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “But it is so dark, and so deep.
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “What have you in the room, Barbe?”
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
in or at that place or location
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He hung there, and, seeing her hands so near, stretched one of his to meet them.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What have you in the room, Barbe?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Can’t I help you, John?”
Chapter 11 of Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping holds 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 11 holds 409 sentences of Mad Barbara, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 11 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 Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6545 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50995 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50995, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 545 minutes of reading across 1309 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mad Barbara section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Mad Barbara 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 Mad Barbara, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
