My New Curate

Chapter XIX · Chapter 19

Chapter 19 of My New Curate is here in full — 292 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Patrick Augustine Sheehan • Curated US English Learning Edition

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

LITERARY ATTEMPTS I broke Captain Ormsby's advice to Father Letheby as gently as I could; and I flatter myself I have the talent of putting things in as roundabout a way as any professional diplomat.

He took it badly.

He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

"Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

"Father Dan, you are right; and I am a fool.

Narrator

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.

Chapter XIX Reading 1/58

My New Curate

Chapter XIX · Chapter 19

Chapter 19 of My New Curate is here in full — 292 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/58 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

LITERARY ATTEMPTS I broke Captain Ormsby's advice to Father Letheby as gently as I could; and I flatter myself I have the talent of putting things in as roundabout a way as any professional diplomat.

Line 2

He took it badly.

/hiː tʊk ɪt ˈbædli/

Line 3

He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

/hiː ɪz ˈklɪrli ˌoʊvərˈwɜːrkɪŋ hɪmˈself fɔːr hiː naʊ bɪˈkʌmz ˈɪrətəbəl ɑːn ðə ˈslaɪtəst ˌprɑːvəˈkeɪʃən/

Line 4

"Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

/blɑːkt ˈevriwer hiː sed ˈwɔːkɪŋ ʌp ənd daʊn hɪz ˈlɪtəl ruːm/

Line 5

"Father Dan, you are right; and I am a fool.

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.

attempts noun US /əˈtempts/

plural of “attempt” — earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

From this reading “LITERARY ATTEMPTS I broke Captain Ormsby's advice to Father Letheby as gently as I could; and I flatter myself I have the talent of putting things in as roundabout a way as any professional diplomat.”

Blocked adjective US /blɑːkt/

closed to traffic

From this reading “"Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.”

diplomat noun US /ˈdɪpləmæt/

an official engaged in international negotiations

flatter verb US /ˈflætər/

praise somewhat dishonestly

irritable adjective US /ˈɪrətəbəl/

easily irritated or annoyed

From this reading “He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.”

overworking noun US /ˌoʊvərˈwɜːrkɪŋ/

the act of working too much or too long

From this reading “He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.”

provocation noun US /ˌprɑːvəˈkeɪʃən/

unfriendly behavior that causes anger or resentment

From this reading “He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.”

roundabout adjective US /ˈraʊndəbaʊt/

marked by obliqueness or indirection in speech or conduct

All words in this reading · 59

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading LITERARY ATTEMPTS I broke Captain Ormsby's advice to Father Letheby as gently as I could; and I flatter myself I have the talent of putting things in as roundabout a way as any professional diplomat.

advicenounUS /ædˈvaɪs/

a proposal for an appropriate course of action

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading "Father Dan, you are right; and I am a fool.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

anyadjectiveUS /ˈeni/

one or some or every or all without specification

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading "Father Dan, you are right; and I am a fool.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

ATTEMPTSnounUS /əˈtempts/

plural of “attempt” — earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

badlyadverbUS /ˈbædli/

to a severe or serious degree

From this reading He took it badly.

becomesverbUS /bɪˈkʌmz/

third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

BlockedadjectiveUS /blɑːkt/

closed to traffic

From this reading "Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

brokeadjectiveUS /broʊk/

lacking funds

CaptainnounUS /ˈkæptən/

an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant

clearlyadverbUS /ˈklɪrli/

without doubt or question

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

Dan

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

From this reading "Father Dan, you are right; and I am a fool.

diplomatnounUS /ˈdɪpləmæt/

an official engaged in international negotiations

downadjectiveUS /daʊn/

being or moving lower in position or less in some value

From this reading "Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

everywhereadverbUS /ˈevriwer/

to or in any or all places

From this reading "Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

FathernounUS /ˈfɑːðər/

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

flatterverbUS /ˈflætər/

praise somewhat dishonestly

foolnounUS /fuːl/

a person who lacks good judgment

From this reading "Father Dan, you are right; and I am a fool.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

gentlyadverbUS /ˈdʒentli/

in a gradual manner

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He took it badly.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading "Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

irritableadjectiveUS /ˈɪrətəbəl/

easily irritated or annoyed

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading He took it badly.

Letheby

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

LITERARYadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəreri/

of or relating to or characteristic of literature

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading "Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

myselfpronounUS /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

nowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

Ormsby's

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

overworkingnounUS /ˌoʊvərˈwɜːrkɪŋ/

the act of working too much or too long

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

professionaladjectiveUS /prəˈfeʃənəl/

engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood

provocationnounUS /ˌprɑːvəˈkeɪʃən/

unfriendly behavior that causes anger or resentment

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

puttingnounUS /ˈpʌtɪŋ/

hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter

rightadverbUS /raɪt/

precisely, exactly

From this reading "Father Dan, you are right; and I am a fool.

roomnounUS /ruːm/

an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling

From this reading "Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

roundaboutadjectiveUS /ˈraʊndəbaʊt/

marked by obliqueness or indirection in speech or conduct

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading "Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

slightestadjectiveUS /ˈslaɪtəst/

superlative of “slight” — (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with “a”) at least some

From this reading He is clearly overworking himself, for he now becomes irritable on the slightest provocation.

talentnounUS /ˈtælənt/

natural abilities or qualities

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

thingsnounUS /θɪŋz/

any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

tookverbUS /tʊk/

inflected form of “take” — carry out

From this reading He took it badly.

upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

From this reading "Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

walkingadjectiveUS /ˈwɔːkɪŋ/

close enough to be walked to

From this reading "Blocked everywhere!" he said, walking up and down his little room.

waynounUS /weɪ/

how something is done or how it happens

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "Father Dan, you are right; and I am a fool.

Chapter 19 of My New Curate by Patrick Augustine Sheehan holds 292 sentences, grouped into 59 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.

What does chapter 19 of My New Curate contain?

Chapter 19 holds 292 sentences of My New Curate, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 19 of My New Curate by Patrick Augustine Sheehan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 292 sentences, grouped into 59 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 19 of My New Curate?

Work through the 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 59 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 19 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 19 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.

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Is this the complete text of My New Curate?

Yes. All 6275 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20295 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #20295, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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Vocabulary met early in My New Curate

Words and structures a reader meets early in My New Curate, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Fault: A word that appears in the opening chapter of My New Curate; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Tongue: A word that appears in the opening chapter of My New Curate; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
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Bitterness: A word that appears in the opening chapter of My New Curate; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XIX · Chapter 19

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