Chapter 17 of Scissors is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Scissors is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room. But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside. At last she gave away her secret hero. "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen. "Shall I keep his breakfast 'ot?"
Chapter 17 of Scissors is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
possessive form of “dean” — an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college
From this reading “Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.”
on a floor below
From this reading “"Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.”
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading “At last she gave away her secret hero.”
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading “"Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.”
a thick flat pad used as a floor covering
From this reading “But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.”
with reluctance
From this reading “"Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.”
a particular situation
From this reading “Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.”
on a floor above
From this reading “Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.”
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.
by a factor of three
In this reading “Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.”
In this reading “"Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.”
In this reading “But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.”
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 But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At last she gave away her secret hero.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading At last she gave away her secret hero.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading "Shall I keep his breakfast 'ot?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.
possessive form of “dean” — an administrator in charge of a division of a university or college
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.
on a floor below
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading At last she gave away her secret hero.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading At last she gave away her secret hero.
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading At last she gave away her secret hero.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Shall I keep his breakfast 'ot?"
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "Shall I keep his breakfast 'ot?"
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
immediately past
From this reading At last she gave away her secret hero.
a thick flat pad used as a floor covering
From this reading But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Shall I keep his breakfast 'ot?"
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
with reluctance
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading At last she gave away her secret hero.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "Shall I keep his breakfast 'ot?"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At last she gave away her secret hero.
a particular situation
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
not in physical motion
From this reading But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
on a floor above
From this reading Annie had been upstairs three times that morning to see if Mr. Dean's shoes had been taken inside his room.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But the door was still closed and the shoes on the mat outside.
but in spite of that
From this reading "Mr. Dean's not up yet," she said reluctantly to Mrs. Perdie, as she came downstairs to the kitchen.
Chapter 17 of Scissors by Cecil Roberts holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 17 holds 186 sentences of Scissors, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Scissors by Cecil Roberts exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 17 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 Scissors by Cecil Roberts on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Scissors section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Scissors 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 Scissors, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
