Chapter 8 of Original Plays, Second Series is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Original Plays, Second Series is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Jen._ Are you going? _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand. I was going to ask you if you would give me a flower--any flower, I don’t care what it is. _Jen._ (_affecting surprise_). A flower?
Chapter 8 of Original Plays, Second Series is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
arousing affect
put or send forth
From this reading “_Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.”
a feeling of favorable regard
From this reading “_Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.”
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “I was going to ask you if you would give me a flower--any flower, I don’t care what it is.”
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “_Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.”
emotionally purging (of e.g. art)
distribute or disperse widely
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
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.
lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
In this reading “_Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.”
In this reading “_Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.”
In this reading “_Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.”
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 _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
arousing affect
From this reading _Jen._ (_affecting surprise_).
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading I was going to ask you if you would give me a flower--any flower, I don’t care what it is.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading _Jen._ Are you going?
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading I was going to ask you if you would give me a flower--any flower, I don’t care what it is.
put or send forth
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I was going to ask you if you would give me a flower--any flower, I don’t care what it is.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
a feeling of favorable regard
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading I was going to ask you if you would give me a flower--any flower, I don’t care what it is.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading I was going to ask you if you would give me a flower--any flower, I don’t care what it is.
the act of departing
From this reading _Jen._ Are you going?
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was going to ask you if you would give me a flower--any flower, I don’t care what it is.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Jen._ Are you going?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
not any; not one
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
emotionally purging (of e.g. art)
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading _Jen._ (_affecting surprise_).
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I was going to ask you if you would give me a flower--any flower, I don’t care what it is.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I was going to ask you if you would give me a flower--any flower, I don’t care what it is.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _Jen._ Are you going?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _Spread._ No. (_Releasing it--much cast down._) I was going to ask you to do me a great favour, and I thought I could ask it better if I had hold of your hand.
Chapter 8 of Original Plays, Second Series by W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 8 holds 399 sentences of Original Plays, Second Series, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Original Plays, Second Series by W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 8 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 Original Plays, Second Series by W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12140 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59685 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59685, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2428 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Original Plays, Second Series section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of Original Plays, Second Series 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 Original Plays, Second Series, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
