Chapter 9 of Mr. Punch's History of Modern England — Vol. 4 is here in full — 376 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Mr. Punch's History of Modern England — Vol. 4 is here in full — 376 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song. [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad? _Mr. Hicks von Rubenstammer_: Very bad indeed. _Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it. _Mr. H. v.
Chapter 9 of Mr. Punch's History of Modern England — Vol. 4 is here in full — 376 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
plural of “hang” — a special way of doing something
From this reading “'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.”
plural of “hick” — a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture
From this reading “_Mr. Hicks von Rubenstammer_: Very bad indeed.”
as yourself
From this reading “_Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.”
deliver a quick blow to
third-person singular of “sing” — deliver by singing
continue to live and avoid dying
From this reading “_Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.”
by that means or because of that
From this reading “'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.”
a weave used to produce the effect of parallel diagonal ribs
From this reading “'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.”
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.
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 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading _Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
later than; following
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
in the past
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
being one more than ten
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
accept an excuse for
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading _Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.
a nonmetallic univalent element that is normally a colorless and odorless highly flammable diatomic gas; the simplest and lightest and most abundant element in the universe
From this reading _Mr. H. v.
plural of “hang” — a special way of doing something
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
plural of “hick” — a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture
From this reading _Mr. Hicks von Rubenstammer_: Very bad indeed.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading _Mr. Hicks von Rubenstammer_: Very bad indeed.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
a particular point in time
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
a form of address for a man
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading _Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
as yourself
From this reading _Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.
deliver a quick blow to
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Mr. Hicks von Rubenstammer_: Very bad indeed.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading _Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
third-person singular of “sing” — deliver by singing
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
a short musical composition with words
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
continue to live and avoid dying
From this reading _Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading _Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.
by that means or because of that
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Mr. Punch_: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.
a weave used to produce the effect of parallel diagonal ribs
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
a unit of potential equal to the potential difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between the two points is 1 watt
From this reading _Mr. H. v.
precisely as stated
From this reading [_Sings it._] [_Mr. Punch_: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act _very_ bad?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Mr. Hicks von Rubenstammer_: Very bad indeed.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And thereby hangs a song.
Chapter 9 of Mr. Punch's History of Modern England — Vol. 4 by Charles L. (Charles Larcom) Graves holds 376 sentences, grouped into 76 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 9 holds 376 sentences of Mr. Punch's History of Modern England — Vol. 4, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Mr. Punch's History of Modern England — Vol. 4 by Charles L. (Charles Larcom) Graves exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 376 sentences, grouped into 76 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 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 76 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 9 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 Mr. Punch's History of Modern England — Vol. 4 by Charles L. (Charles Larcom) Graves on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5790 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48405 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48405, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 482 minutes of reading across 1158 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mr. Punch's History of Modern England — Vol. 4 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Mr. Punch's History of Modern England — Vol. 4 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 Mr. Punch's History of Modern England — Vol. 4, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
