Chapter 16 of Romance of California Life Illustrated is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Romance of California Life Illustrated is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It hurts," mumbled Toddie. "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton. "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him. An' then I wanted to grop him." "Why didn't you do it, then?" demanded the lady.
Chapter 16 of Romance of California Life Illustrated is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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.
plural of “baby” — a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “"It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.”
English explorer who with John Speke was the first European to explore Lake Tanganyika (1821-1890)
From this reading “"What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.”
plural of “hurt” — any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading “"It hurts," mumbled Toddie.”
plural of “kind” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “"It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.”
plural of “love” — a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading “"It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.”
past form of “mumble” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “"It hurts," mumbled Toddie.”
a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading “"It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.”
inflected form of “sob” — weep convulsively
From this reading “"It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet 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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
(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 "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
plural of “baby” — a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
English explorer who with John Speke was the first European to explore Lake Tanganyika (1821-1890)
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "Why didn't you do it, then?" demanded the lady.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why didn't you do it, then?" demanded the lady.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Why didn't you do it, then?" demanded the lady.
a quad with a square body
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An' then I wanted to grop him."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
plural of “hurt” — any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading "It hurts," mumbled Toddie.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It hurts," mumbled Toddie.
plural of “kind” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading "Why didn't you do it, then?" demanded the lady.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
plural of “love” — a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
past form of “mumble” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading "It hurts," mumbled Toddie.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
inflected form of “sob” — weep convulsively
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading An' then I wanted to grop him."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It hurts," mumbled Toddie.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It was a little baby-lobster," sobbed Toddie; "an' I loves little babies--all kinds of 'em--an' I wanted to pet him.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why didn't you do it, then?" demanded the lady.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What did you touch the fish at all for?" asked Mrs. Burton.
Chapter 16 of Romance of California Life Illustrated by John Habberton holds 385 sentences, grouped into 77 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 16 holds 385 sentences of Romance of California Life Illustrated, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Romance of California Life Illustrated by John Habberton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 385 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 Romance of California Life Illustrated by John Habberton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6396 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13832 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13832, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 533 minutes of reading across 1280 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Romance of California Life Illustrated section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Romance of California Life Illustrated 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 Romance of California Life Illustrated, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
