Chapter 11 of Polly of the Circus is here in full — 243 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Polly of the Circus is here in full — 243 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps. “All right!” called Douglas. “Take these with you, perhaps they may help.” He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground. His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
Chapter 11 of Polly of the Circus is here in full — 243 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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 digital tape recording of sound
From this reading ““I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.”
United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
From this reading ““All right!” called Douglas.”
an old word for “before”
From this reading ““I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.”
brought together in one place
From this reading “He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.”
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading “His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.”
plural of “touch” — the event of something coming in contact with the body
From this reading ““I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.”
possessive form of “widow” — a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading ““I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.”
used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father
From this reading “His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.”
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.
(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 “All right!” called Douglas.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “All right!” called Douglas.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
a digital tape recording of sound
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
From this reading “All right!” called Douglas.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
an old word for “before”
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
at any time
From this reading His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.
brought together in one place
From this reading He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “Take these with you, perhaps they may help.”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading “Take these with you, perhaps they may help.”
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.
by chance
From this reading “Take these with you, perhaps they may help.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.
precisely, exactly
From this reading “All right!” called Douglas.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
carry out
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading “Take these with you, perhaps they may help.”
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Take these with you, perhaps they may help.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
plural of “touch” — the event of something coming in contact with the body
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He gathered up the garlands which Polly had left on the ground.
possessive form of “widow” — a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading “I'se goin' into de Sunday-school-room to take off dat ere widow's finishin' touches,” said Mandy, as she came down the steps.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Take these with you, perhaps they may help.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Take these with you, perhaps they may help.”
used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father
From this reading His eyes were shining, he looked younger than Mandy had ever seen him.
Chapter 11 of Polly of the Circus by Margaret Mayo holds 243 sentences, grouped into 49 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 11 holds 243 sentences of Polly of the Circus, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Polly of the Circus by Margaret Mayo exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 243 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 11 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 Polly of the Circus by Margaret Mayo on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2492 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #859 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #859, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 207 minutes of reading across 499 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Polly of the Circus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Polly of the Circus 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 Polly of the Circus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
