Chapter 21 of North and South is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of North and South is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FRUIT-PIECE. “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.” MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day. There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
Chapter 21 of North and South is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
not functioning properly
From this reading ““For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.””
plural of “bargain” — an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each
From this reading “There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.”
a division of some larger or more complex organization
From this reading “There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.”
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading “There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.”
plural of “good” — benefit
From this reading “There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.”
June 21, when the sun is at its northernmost point
From this reading “MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.”
possessive form of “night” — the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
American architect (1759-1828)
From this reading “Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.”
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 There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
acted upon; influenced
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
not functioning properly
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
plural of “bargain” — an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
a division of some larger or more complex organization
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
rid of obstructions
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FRUIT-PIECE.
plural of “good” — benefit
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
plural of “interest” — a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
June 21, when the sun is at its northernmost point
From this reading MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
possessive form of “night” — the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
a lack of penetration or subtlety
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
successive (without a break)
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
a special situation
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
American architect (1759-1828)
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
the commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or international markets) of goods and services
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a slight demand for finished goods; and as it affected his branch of the trade, he took advantage of it, and drove hard bargains.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Mr. Thornton went straight and clear into all the interests of the following day.
at the time that
From this reading “For never any thing can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it.”
Chapter 21 of North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell holds 173 sentences, grouped into 35 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 21 holds 173 sentences of North and South, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 21 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 North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10039 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4276 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4276, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2008 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through North and South section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of North and South 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 North and South, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
