Chapter 16 of Seventeen A Tale of Youth and Summer Time is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Seventeen A Tale of Youth and Summer Time is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I don't know. Perhaps he doesn't even know, himself, Jane.” But William did know, definitely. He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them. When his task was completed the two baskets contained:
Chapter 16 of Seventeen A Tale of Youth and Summer Time is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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 “basket” — a container that is usually woven and has handles
From this reading “He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.”
plural of “chair” — a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.”
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading “When his task was completed the two baskets contained:”
gotten under control
From this reading “When his task was completed the two baskets contained:”
without question and beyond doubt
From this reading “But William did know, definitely.”
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading “He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.”
make full, also in a metaphorical sense
From this reading “He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.”
(law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked
From this reading “He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.”
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 He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
plural of “basket” — a container that is usually woven and has handles
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But William did know, definitely.
plural of “chair” — a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading When his task was completed the two baskets contained:
gotten under control
From this reading When his task was completed the two baskets contained:
without question and beyond doubt
From this reading But William did know, definitely.
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But William did know, definitely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Perhaps he doesn't even know, himself, Jane.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don't know.
divisible by two
From this reading Perhaps he doesn't even know, himself, Jane.”
make full, also in a metaphorical sense
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Perhaps he doesn't even know, himself, Jane.”
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Perhaps he doesn't even know, himself, Jane.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading When his task was completed the two baskets contained:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I don't know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Perhaps he doesn't even know, himself, Jane.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “I don't know.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
by chance
From this reading Perhaps he doesn't even know, himself, Jane.”
(law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
From this reading When his task was completed the two baskets contained:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading When his task was completed the two baskets contained:
a formal word for “on”
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
at the time that
From this reading When his task was completed the two baskets contained:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But William did know, definitely.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He had set the baskets upon chairs, and now, with pale determination, he was proceeding to fill them.
Chapter 16 of Seventeen A Tale of Youth and Summer Time by Booth Tarkington holds 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 16 holds 194 sentences of Seventeen A Tale of Youth and Summer Time, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Seventeen A Tale of Youth and Summer Time by Booth Tarkington exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Seventeen A Tale of Youth and Summer Time by Booth Tarkington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4225 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1611 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1611, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 352 minutes of reading across 845 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Seventeen A Tale of Youth and Summer Time section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Seventeen A Tale of Youth and Summer Time 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 Seventeen A Tale of Youth and Summer Time, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
