Chapter 15 of Shirley is here in full — 334 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Shirley is here in full — 334 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. DONNE'S EXODUS. The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well. "I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she. "It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.
Chapter 15 of Shirley is here in full — 334 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/66 · 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.
providing enjoyment; pleasantly entertaining
From this reading “"It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.”
of or relating to the life and times of kings Charles I or Charles II of England
From this reading “The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.”
past form of “concoct” — make a concoction (of) by mixing
From this reading “"It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.”
greatly pleased
From this reading “The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.”
provide entertainment for
From this reading “"I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she.”
a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment
From this reading “DONNE'S EXODUS.”
in a judicious manner
From this reading “"It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.”
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading “"It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.”
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.
In this reading “The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.”
In this reading “The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.”
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 "I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she.
providing enjoyment; pleasantly entertaining
From this reading "It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.
of or relating to the life and times of kings Charles I or Charles II of England
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading "I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she.
past form of “concoct” — make a concoction (of) by mixing
From this reading "It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
greatly pleased
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DONNE'S EXODUS.
derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading "It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.
provide entertainment for
From this reading "I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she.
a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment
From this reading DONNE'S EXODUS.
communicated in words
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading "I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she.
destroyed or killed
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.
in a judicious manner
From this reading "It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading "It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
on the contrary
From this reading "I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she.
the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading "It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I rather like to entertain a circle of gentlemen," said she.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It is amusing to observe how they enjoy a judiciously concocted repast.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading The next day Shirley expressed to Caroline how delighted she felt that the little party had gone off so well.
Chapter 15 of Shirley by Charlotte Brontë holds 334 sentences, grouped into 67 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 15 holds 334 sentences of Shirley, unabridged, divided into 67 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Shirley by Charlotte Brontë exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 334 sentences, grouped into 67 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 67 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 67 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 15 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 Shirley by Charlotte Brontë on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 14226 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30486 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30486, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2846 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shirley section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Shirley 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 Shirley, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
