Chapter 6 of Madcap is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Madcap is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe. Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch. The aëroplane had vanished. When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes. Mad!
Chapter 6 of Madcap is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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 small house with a single story
From this reading “When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.”
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading “"WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.”
set up or found
From this reading “Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.”
the act of applying force in order to move something away
From this reading “"WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.”
small Old World songbird with a reddish breast
From this reading “"WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.”
(used especially of meats and fish) dried and cured by hanging in wood smoke
From this reading “When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.”
leaves of the tobacco plant dried and prepared for smoking or ingestion
From this reading “"WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.”
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “"WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.”
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 When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The aëroplane had vanished.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
a small house with a single story
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
separated in space or coming from or going to a distance
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
a long fixed look
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The aëroplane had vanished.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
set up or found
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
roused to anger
From this reading Mad!
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
on one occasion
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
above and across; more than
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
the act of applying force in order to move something away
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
small Old World songbird with a reddish breast
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
without speaking
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
(used especially of meats and fish) dried and cured by hanging in wood smoke
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
leaves of the tobacco plant dried and prepared for smoking or ingestion
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
in the direction of
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
two times
From this reading Once or twice he stopped and turned, looking out over the bay toward the distant launch.
having passed out of existence
From this reading The aëroplane had vanished.
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading "WAKE ROBIN" Markham climbed the hill slowly, pushing tobacco into his pipe.
at the time that
From this reading When he reached the bungalow he dropped into a chair, his gaze on space, and smoked silently for many minutes.
Chapter 6 of Madcap by George Gibbs holds 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 6 holds 199 sentences of Madcap, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Madcap by George Gibbs exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Madcap by George Gibbs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6689 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11584 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11584, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 557 minutes of reading across 1338 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Madcap section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Madcap 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 Madcap, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
