Chapter 36 of Melbourne House is here in full — 277 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter 36 of Melbourne House is here in full — 277 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN ACCIDENT. It was growing late in the fall now. Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter. Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was. But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
Chapter 36 of Melbourne House is here in full — 277 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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.
an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury
From this reading “AN ACCIDENT.”
possessive form of “daisy” — any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
From this reading “But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.”
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading “But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.”
past form of “hint” — drop a hint; intimate by a hint
From this reading “Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.”
plural of “lesson” — a unit of instruction
From this reading “But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.”
a resort town in east central Florida
From this reading “But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.”
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.”
plural of “scene” — the place where some action occurs
From this reading “But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.”
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.
an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury
From this reading AN ACCIDENT.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN ACCIDENT.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter.
possessive form of “daisy” — any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading It was growing late in the fall now.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter.
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading It was growing late in the fall now.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
past form of “hint” — drop a hint; intimate by a hint
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was growing late in the fall now.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was growing late in the fall now.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading It was growing late in the fall now.
plural of “lesson” — a unit of instruction
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
a resort town in east central Florida
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
in motion
From this reading Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It was growing late in the fall now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter.
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
plural of “scene” — the place where some action occurs
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
an educational institution
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was growing late in the fall now.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was growing late in the fall now.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
in or at the place that
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading But his wife said that for Daisy's sake they must quit Melbourne, and try what new scenes, and lessons, and dancing school would do for her.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading Mrs. Randolph began to talk of moving to the city for the winter.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Mr. Randolph more than half hinted that he would like as well to stay where he was.
Chapter 36 of Melbourne House by Susan Warner holds 277 sentences, grouped into 56 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 36 holds 277 sentences of Melbourne House, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 36 of Melbourne House by Susan Warner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 277 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 36 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 Melbourne House by Susan Warner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13397 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18686 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18686, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2680 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Melbourne House section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Melbourne House 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 Melbourne House, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
