Chapter 23 of Sophia: A Romance is here in full — 293 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Sophia: A Romance is here in full — 293 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation. "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said. "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust. Coke will swinge them," he continued with zest. "He must swinge them, like it or not!
Chapter 23 of Sophia: A Romance is here in full — 293 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/58 · 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.
an expectation
From this reading “TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.”
carbon fuel produced by distillation of coal
From this reading “Coke will swinge them," he continued with zest.”
the outer layer of the Earth
From this reading “"And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.”
the quantity that can be held in a mug
From this reading “"And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.”
plural of “portrait” — a word picture of a person's appearance and character
From this reading “TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.”
inflected form of “rub” — move over something with pressure
From this reading “TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.”
a particular situation
From this reading “"And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.”
vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
From this reading “Coke will swinge them," he continued with zest.”
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 "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.
an expectation
From this reading TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.
carbon fuel produced by distillation of coal
From this reading Coke will swinge them," he continued with zest.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
without stop or interruption
From this reading Coke will swinge them," he continued with zest.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.
the outer layer of the Earth
From this reading "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "He must swinge them, like it or not!
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "He must swinge them, like it or not!
the quantity that can be held in a mug
From this reading "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "He must swinge them, like it or not!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "He must swinge them, like it or not!
according to the clock
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "He must swinge them, like it or not!
plural of “portrait” — a word picture of a person's appearance and character
From this reading TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.
inflected form of “rub” — move over something with pressure
From this reading TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
a particular situation
From this reading "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.
burn superficially or lightly
From this reading Coke will swinge them," he continued with zest.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Coke will swinge them," he continued with zest.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "They are coming to the Hall at four o'clock," he said.
male cat
From this reading TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading TWO PORTRAITS Tom rubbed his hands in cruel anticipation.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Coke will swinge them," he continued with zest.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Coke will swinge them," he continued with zest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And I wouldn't be in their shoes for a mug and a crust.
vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
From this reading Coke will swinge them," he continued with zest.
Chapter 23 of Sophia: A Romance by Stanley John Weyman holds 293 sentences, grouped into 59 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 23 holds 293 sentences of Sophia: A Romance, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Sophia: A Romance by Stanley John Weyman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 293 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 23 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 Sophia: A Romance by Stanley John Weyman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8055 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39168 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39168, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1611 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sophia: A Romance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of Sophia: A Romance 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 Sophia: A Romance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
