Chapter 13 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I am here, John, waiting.” He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be. “Poor heart, the blood must be numb in you.” “No, John, not quite.” “Let me have your hands, dear.”
Chapter 13 of Mad Barbara is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading ““Poor heart, the blood must be numb in you.””
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading “He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.”
past form of “guess” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading ““I am here, John, waiting.””
in a miserable manner
From this reading “He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.”
lacking sensation
From this reading ““Poor heart, the blood must be numb in you.””
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading ““I am here, John, waiting.””
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading “He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.”
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.
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “I am here, John, waiting.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading “Poor heart, the blood must be numb in you.”
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
dearly loved
From this reading “Let me have your hands, dear.”
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
past form of “guess” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading “Let me have your hands, dear.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Let me have your hands, dear.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading “Poor heart, the blood must be numb in you.”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “I am here, John, waiting.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I am here, John, waiting.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Poor heart, the blood must be numb in you.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “I am here, John, waiting.”
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “Let me have your hands, dear.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Let me have your hands, dear.”
in a miserable manner
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
not any; not one
From this reading “No, John, not quite.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “No, John, not quite.”
lacking sensation
From this reading “Poor heart, the blood must be numb in you.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “Poor heart, the blood must be numb in you.”
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading “No, John, not quite.”
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “I am here, John, waiting.”
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading He felt the wind on his back, and guessed how miserably cold that room must be.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Poor heart, the blood must be numb in you.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Let me have your hands, dear.”
Chapter 13 of Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 13 holds 412 sentences of Mad Barbara, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Mad Barbara by Warwick Deeping exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 13 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.
