Chapter 6 of Show Boat is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Show Boat is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“What would you have me do?” “Do! Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.” “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present. She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
Chapter 6 of Show Boat is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
be in accord; be in agreement
From this reading ““I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.”
give sanction to
From this reading “She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.”
past form of “chance” — be the case by chance
From this reading ““I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.”
plural of “hawk” — diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail
From this reading ““I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.”
the people or companies engaged in a particular kind of commercial enterprise
From this reading “She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.”
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading “Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.””
close-fitting hosiery to cover the foot and leg; come in matched pairs (usually used in the plural)
From this reading “Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.””
a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
From this reading “She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.”
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.
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 She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
be in accord; be in agreement
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
give sanction to
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
past form of “chance” — be the case by chance
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What would you have me do?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “What would you have me do?”
plural of “hawk” — diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
an opening into or through something
From this reading Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.”
the people or companies engaged in a particular kind of commercial enterprise
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “What would you have me do?”
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.”
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
not any; not one
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.”
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
a strong feeling or emotion
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
express in words
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
close-fitting hosiery to cover the foot and leg; come in matched pairs (usually used in the plural)
From this reading Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.”
a special situation
From this reading Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I should say as much,” Mrs. Hawks would agree, if she chanced to be present.
a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
From this reading She had no love for Elly; but her own passion for industry and order could not but cause her to approve a like trait in another.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What would you have me do?”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “What would you have me do?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What would you have me do?”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Mend the hole in your stocking, for one thing.”
Chapter 6 of Show Boat by Edna Ferber holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 6 holds 406 sentences of Show Boat, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Show Boat by Edna Ferber exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 6 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 Show Boat by Edna Ferber 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 Show Boat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Show Boat 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 Show Boat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
