Chapter XVII of Mary Lee, “Bear Lawn Again,” is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVII of Mary Lee, “Bear Lawn Again,” is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed. Evening was darkening the room. Uncle Simeon had already come--and gone. Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words. Aunt Jael, particularly, must have been in awful form.
Chapter XVII of Mary Lee, “Bear Lawn Again,” is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.”
a solid food prepared from the pressed curd of milk
From this reading “Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.”
becoming dark or darker as from waning light or clouding over
From this reading “Evening was darkening the room.”
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.”
possessive form of “grandmother” — the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.”
past form of “mince” — make less severe or harsh
From this reading “Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.”
(Old Testament) the 2nd son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel
From this reading “Uncle Simeon had already come--and gone.”
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 “Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.”
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.
(followed by “to”) in agreement with or accordant with
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading Uncle Simeon had already come--and gone.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Uncle Simeon had already come--and gone.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Aunt Jael, particularly, must have been in awful form.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading Aunt Jael, particularly, must have been in awful form.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Aunt Jael, particularly, must have been in awful form.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
a solid food prepared from the pressed curd of milk
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Uncle Simeon had already come--and gone.
becoming dark or darker as from waning light or clouding over
From this reading Evening was darkening the room.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading Evening was darkening the room.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
From this reading Aunt Jael, particularly, must have been in awful form.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Uncle Simeon had already come--and gone.
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
possessive form of “grandmother” — the mother of your father or mother
From this reading I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.
an aunt of your father or mother
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Uncle Simeon had already come--and gone.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Aunt Jael, particularly, must have been in awful form.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aunt Jael, particularly, must have been in awful form.
past form of “mince” — make less severe or harsh
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Aunt Jael, particularly, must have been in awful form.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading Aunt Jael, particularly, must have been in awful form.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Evening was darkening the room.
(Old Testament) the 2nd son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel
From this reading Uncle Simeon had already come--and gone.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Evening was darkening the room.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I awoke to find myself in my Grandmother's bed.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading Uncle Simeon had already come--and gone.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Evening was darkening the room.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Precisely what had taken place I was not told, but according to Mrs. Cheese neither my Grandmother nor my Great-Aunt had minced their words.
Chapter 17 of Mary Lee by Geoffrey Dennis holds 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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 17 holds 177 sentences of Mary Lee, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Mary Lee by Geoffrey Dennis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 17 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 Mary Lee by Geoffrey Dennis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10057 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62295 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62295, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2012 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mary Lee section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Mary Lee 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 Mary Lee, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
