Chapter 19 of Penny Nichols and the Black Imp is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Penny Nichols and the Black Imp is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Fire! Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself. Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention. She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance. It was useless, she thought miserably.
Chapter 19 of Penny Nichols and the Black Imp is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
From this reading “Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.”
plural of “bond” — an electrical force linking atoms
From this reading “Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.”
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading “She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.”
cotton trousers made of corduroy cloth
From this reading “Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.”
in a miserable manner
From this reading “It was useless, she thought miserably.”
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading “Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.”
in a secure manner; in a manner free from danger
From this reading “Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.”
past form of “thump” — move rhythmically
From this reading “She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.”
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.
In this reading “Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.”
In this reading “She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.”
In this reading “Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.”
In this reading “Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.”
keep in mind for attention or consideration
In this reading “Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
plural of “bond” — an electrical force linking atoms
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
cotton trousers made of corduroy cloth
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
firmly closed or secured
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
start firing a weapon
From this reading Fire!
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was useless, she thought miserably.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
in a miserable manner
From this reading It was useless, she thought miserably.
not any; not one
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
in a secure manner; in a manner free from danger
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading It was useless, she thought miserably.
past form of “thump” — move rhythmically
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
hard to endure
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading It was useless, she thought miserably.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was useless, she thought miserably.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to think of some way to attract attention.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She thumped with her feet on the floor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to her assistance.
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely and she could not free herself.
Chapter 19 of Penny Nichols and the Black Imp by Joan Clark holds 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 19 holds 122 sentences of Penny Nichols and the Black Imp, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Penny Nichols and the Black Imp by Joan Clark exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 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.
Common questions about reading Penny Nichols and the Black Imp by Joan Clark on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3573 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33382 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33382, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 297 minutes of reading across 715 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Penny Nichols and the Black Imp section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Penny Nichols and the Black Imp 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 Penny Nichols and the Black Imp, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
