Chapter 1 of Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870 is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870 is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Theatrical Person._ "Why, that is LYDIA THOMPSON. The play was written for her, you know." _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play. What is the stage coming to? In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
Chapter 1 of Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870 is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 45/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 221–225
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.
the performance of a part or role in a drama
From this reading “In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.”
lacking in liveliness or animation
easily irritated or annoyed
From this reading “_Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.”
an ancient region on the coast of western Asia Minor; a powerful kingdom until conquered by the Persians in 546 BC
From this reading “_Theatrical Person._ "Why, that is LYDIA THOMPSON.”
a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property
From this reading “In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.”
any distinct time period in a sequence of events
From this reading “What is the stage coming to?”
of or relating to the theater
United States classical archaeologist (born in Canada) noted for leading the excavation of the Athenian agora (1906-2000)
From this reading “_Theatrical Person._ "Why, that is LYDIA THOMPSON.”
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.
the performance of a part or role in a drama
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
(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 _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading What is the stage coming to?
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The play was written for her, you know."
a man of refinement
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The play was written for her, you know."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
easily irritated or annoyed
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _Theatrical Person._ "Why, that is LYDIA THOMPSON.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading The play was written for her, you know."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
an ancient region on the coast of western Asia Minor; a powerful kingdom until conquered by the Persians in 546 BC
From this reading _Theatrical Person._ "Why, that is LYDIA THOMPSON.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
a human being
From this reading _Theatrical Person._ "Why, that is LYDIA THOMPSON.
participate in games or sport
From this reading The play was written for her, you know."
express in words
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
any distinct time period in a sequence of events
From this reading What is the stage coming to?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading _Theatrical Person._ "Why, that is LYDIA THOMPSON.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The play was written for her, you know."
of or relating to the theater
From this reading _Theatrical Person._ "Why, that is LYDIA THOMPSON.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
United States classical archaeologist (born in Canada) noted for leading the excavation of the Athenian agora (1906-2000)
From this reading _Theatrical Person._ "Why, that is LYDIA THOMPSON.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The play was written for her, you know."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading In my day we used to have something like acting at the old Park.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What is the stage coming to?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading _Theatrical Person._ "Why, that is LYDIA THOMPSON.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading _Dull Old Gentleman (evidently getting irritable.)_ "All I've got to say is this, that I don't know which is the worse, she or the play.
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading The play was written for her, you know."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading The play was written for her, you know."
Chapter 1 of Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870 by Various holds 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 1 holds 422 sentences of Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870 by Various exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 1 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 Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870 by Various on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 826 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9962 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9962, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 68 minutes of reading across 166 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870 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 Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 08, May 21, 1870, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
