Chapter 6 of Over the Teacups is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Over the Teacups is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Professor spoke up. “That can't be, madam,” he said. “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.” Number Five is never disconcerted. “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
Chapter 6 of Over the Teacups is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
a particular environment or surrounding influence
From this reading ““The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.””
plural of “band” — an unofficial association of people or groups
From this reading ““Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?”
a woman of refinement
From this reading ““That can't be, madam,” he said.”
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading ““The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.””
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “The Professor spoke up.”
a giant planet that is surrounded by three planar concentric rings of ice particles; the 6th planet from the sun
From this reading ““The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.””
plural of “show” — the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining
From this reading ““The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.””
an ordered array of the components of an emission or wave
From this reading ““Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?”
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.
a record or narrative description of past events
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
a particular environment or surrounding influence
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
plural of “band” — an unofficial association of people or groups
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “That can't be, madam,” he said.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That can't be, madam,” he said.
having self-possession upset; thrown into confusion
From this reading Number Five is never disconcerted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading Number Five is never disconcerted.
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
set up or found
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “That can't be, madam,” he said.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Number Five is never disconcerted.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
a woman of refinement
From this reading “That can't be, madam,” he said.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Number Five is never disconcerted.
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
not any; not one
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
From this reading Number Five is never disconcerted.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading The Professor spoke up.
free of extraneous elements of any kind
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “That can't be, madam,” he said.
a giant planet that is surrounded by three planar concentric rings of ice particles; the 6th planet from the sun
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
plural of “show” — the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
an optical instrument for spectrographic analysis
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
an ordered array of the components of an emission or wave
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading The Professor spoke up.
express in words
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “That can't be, madam,” he said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Professor spoke up.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The Professor spoke up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “The spectroscope shows the atmosphere of Saturn to be--no matter, I have forgotten what; but it was not pure nitrogen, at any rate.”
in or at the place that
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Will you tell me,” she said, “where you have found any account of the bands and lines in the spectrum of dream-nitrogen?
Chapter 6 of Over the Teacups by Oliver Wendell Holmes holds 152 sentences, grouped into 31 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 6 holds 152 sentences of Over the Teacups, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Over the Teacups by Oliver Wendell Holmes exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 152 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 6 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 Over the Teacups by Oliver Wendell Holmes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4042 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2689 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2689, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 336 minutes of reading across 809 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Over the Teacups section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Over the Teacups 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 Over the Teacups, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
