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Major Barbara
Major Barbara

Chapter VI · Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of Major Barbara is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Major Barbara
Context Illustration Reading 1/83 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?
BARBARA.
Why not!
Do you know what my father is?
Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Major Barbara

Chapter VI · Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of Major Barbara is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?
Line 2
BARBARA.
Line 3
Why not!
/waɪ nɑːt/
Line 4
Do you know what my father is?
/duː juː noʊ wʌt maɪ ˈfɑːðər ɪz/
Line 5
Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?

Learner Dictionary

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.

astonished adjective US /əˈstɑːnɪʃt/

filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock

From this reading “MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?”

dear adjective US /dɪr/

dearly loved

From this reading “MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?”

father noun US /ˈfɑːðər/

a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)

From this reading “Do you know what my father is?”

forgotten adjective US /fərˈɡɑːt.n̩/

Not remembered; lapsed from memory.

From this reading “Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?”

know verb US /noʊ/

be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about

From this reading “Do you know what my father is?”

Lord noun US /lɔːrd/

terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God

From this reading “Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?”

mrs noun US /ˈmɪsɪz/

a form of address for a married woman

From this reading “MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?”

whisky noun US /ˈwɪski/

a liquor made from fermented mash of grain

From this reading “Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?”

All words in this reading · 23

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.

astonishedadjectiveUS /əˈstɑːnɪʃt/

filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock

From this reading MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?

BAINES

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?

BARBARA

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading BARBARA.

Bodger

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?

dearadjectiveUS /dɪr/

dearly loved

From this reading MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?

Doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading Do you know what my father is?

fathernounUS /ˈfɑːðər/

a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)

From this reading Do you know what my father is?

forgottenadjectiveUS /fərˈɡɑːt.n̩/

Not remembered; lapsed from memory.

From this reading Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?

Haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Do you know what my father is?

knowverbUS /noʊ/

be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about

From this reading Do you know what my father is?

LordnounUS /lɔːrd/

terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God

From this reading Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?

mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?

MRSnounUS /ˈmɪsɪz/

a form of address for a married woman

From this reading MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading Do you know what my father is?

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?

Saxmundham

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading Do you know what my father is?

whiskynounUS /ˈwɪski/

a liquor made from fermented mash of grain

From this reading Have you forgotten that Lord Saxmundham is Bodger the whisky man?

WhynounUS /waɪ/

the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”

From this reading MRS BAINES [astonished] Why not, dear?

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Do you know what my father is?

Chapter 6 of Major Barbara by Bernard Shaw holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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.

What does chapter 6 of Major Barbara contain?

Chapter 6 holds 416 sentences of Major Barbara, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 6 of Major Barbara by Bernard Shaw exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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.

How do I study chapter 6 of Major Barbara?

Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 84 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.

Can chapter 6 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Major Barbara

Common questions about reading Major Barbara by Bernard Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Major Barbara?

Yes. All 3756 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3790 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Major Barbara is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #3790, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Major Barbara take to read?

About 313 minutes of reading across 752 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Major Barbara section by section

How to work through Major Barbara section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 9 chapters of Major Barbara to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Major Barbara

Words and structures a reader meets early in Major Barbara, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Dinner
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Major Barbara; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
January
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Major Barbara; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Night
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Major Barbara; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Library
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Major Barbara; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.