Chapter 16 of Over the Teacups is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Over the Teacups is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest. “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?” “A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament. The great trouble is with her voice. It is pitched a full note too high.
Chapter 16 of Over the Teacups is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading “The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.”
pleasing or delighting
From this reading ““A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament.”
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading ““And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?””
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading “The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.”
a brief written record
From this reading “It is pitched a full note too high.”
(of sound) set to a certain pitch or key; usually used as a combining form
From this reading “It is pitched a full note too high.”
your usual mood
From this reading ““A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament.”
be a tutor to someone; give individual instruction
From this reading “The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.”
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 “A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.
pleasing or delighting
From this reading “A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament.
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading It is pitched a full note too high.
a young female
From this reading “A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The great trouble is with her voice.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading It is pitched a full note too high.
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The great trouble is with her voice.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is pitched a full note too high.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.
a brief written record
From this reading It is pitched a full note too high.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
From this reading The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
(of sound) set to a certain pitch or key; usually used as a combining form
From this reading It is pitched a full note too high.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading “A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
your usual mood
From this reading “A charming girl for a man of a quiet, easy temperament.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading It is pitched a full note too high.
a source of difficulty
From this reading The great trouble is with her voice.
be a tutor to someone; give individual instruction
From this reading The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading The great trouble is with her voice.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading The Tutor listened to Number Five with much apparent interest.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “And now,” he said, “what do you think of her companion?”
Chapter 16 of Over the Teacups by Oliver Wendell Holmes holds 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 16 holds 157 sentences of Over the Teacups, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Over the Teacups by Oliver Wendell Holmes exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 16 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.
