Chapter 14 of Mother-Meg is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Mother-Meg is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE EMPTY CRADLE. When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law. "Are you very busy, dear mother?" she asked. "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you. Do you want anything?"
Chapter 14 of Mother-Meg is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “"Are you very busy, dear mother?" she asked.”
wood of any of various cherry trees especially the black cherry
From this reading “When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.”
a baby bed with sides and rockers
From this reading “THE EMPTY CRADLE.”
make void or empty of contents
From this reading “THE EMPTY CRADLE.”
a health facility where patients receive treatment
From this reading “When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.”
a terrorist organization founded in 2000; a militant Islamic group active in Kashmir and closely aligned with al-Rashid Trust; seeks to secure release of imprisoned fellow militants by kidnappings
From this reading “When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.”
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading “When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.”
the mother of your spouse
From this reading “When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.”
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.
state
In this reading “When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.”
In this reading “When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.”
In this reading “"Are you very busy, dear mother?" she asked.”
work for or be a servant to
In this reading “"No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
any thing at all
From this reading Do you want anything?"
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Are you very busy, dear mother?" she asked.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Are you very busy, dear mother?" she asked.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading "Are you very busy, dear mother?" she asked.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.
wood of any of various cherry trees especially the black cherry
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
a baby bed with sides and rockers
From this reading THE EMPTY CRADLE.
dearly loved
From this reading "Are you very busy, dear mother?" she asked.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading THE EMPTY CRADLE.
opinion or judgment
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
a health facility where patients receive treatment
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.
a terrorist organization founded in 2000; a militant Islamic group active in Kashmir and closely aligned with al-Rashid Trust; seeks to secure release of imprisoned fellow militants by kidnappings
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "Are you very busy, dear mother?" she asked.
the mother of your spouse
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Are you very busy, dear mother?" she asked.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE EMPTY CRADLE.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
precisely as stated
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading "No, my dear, I have nothing to do now but to wait on you.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading Do you want anything?"
at the time that
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
which person or people
From this reading When Cherry and Jem had really set forth to the hospital, Meg, who had been lying very quiet for some time, opened her eyes and spoke to her mother-in-law.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Are you very busy, dear mother?" she asked.
Chapter 14 of Mother-Meg by Catharine Shaw holds 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 14 holds 127 sentences of Mother-Meg, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Mother-Meg by Catharine Shaw exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 14 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 Mother-Meg by Catharine Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2339 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37715 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37715, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 194 minutes of reading across 468 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mother-Meg section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Mother-Meg 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 Mother-Meg, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
