Chapter 1 of "Surly Tim": A Lancashire Story is here in full — 313 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of "Surly Tim": A Lancashire Story is here in full — 313 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“SURLY TIM.” A LANCASHIRE STORY. “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me? Well, Mester, that's as it may be yo' know. Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
Chapter 1 of "Surly Tim": A Lancashire Story is here in full — 313 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/62 · 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.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading “Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.”
come to pass
From this reading “Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.”
a historical area of northwestern England on the Irish Sea; noted for textiles
From this reading “A LANCASHIRE STORY.”
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.”
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.”
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading ““Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “A LANCASHIRE STORY.”
inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace
From this reading ““SURLY TIM.””
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 A LANCASHIRE STORY.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Well, Mester, that's as it may be yo' know.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Well, Mester, that's as it may be yo' know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
come to pass
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Well, Mester, that's as it may be yo' know.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Well, Mester, that's as it may be yo' know.
a historical area of northwestern England on the Irish Sea; noted for textiles
From this reading A LANCASHIRE STORY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Well, Mester, that's as it may be yo' know.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, Mester, that's as it may be yo' know.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?
express in speech
From this reading “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading A LANCASHIRE STORY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace
From this reading “SURLY TIM.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, Mester, that's as it may be yo' know.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “SURLY TIM.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Sorry to hear my fellow-workmen speak so disparagin' o' me?
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
(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 Well, Mester, that's as it may be yo' know.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Happen my fellow-workmen ha' made a bit o' a mistake--happen what seems loike crustiness to them beant so much crustiness as summat else--happen I mought do my bit o' complainin' too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, Mester, that's as it may be yo' know.
Chapter 1 of "Surly Tim": A Lancashire Story by Frances Hodgson Burnett holds 313 sentences, grouped into 63 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 1 holds 313 sentences of "Surly Tim": A Lancashire Story, unabridged, divided into 63 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of "Surly Tim": A Lancashire Story by Frances Hodgson Burnett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 313 sentences, grouped into 63 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 63 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 63 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 1 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.
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Yes. All 313 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23324 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23324, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 26 minutes of reading across 63 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through "Surly Tim": A Lancashire Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of "Surly Tim": A Lancashire Story 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 "Surly Tim": A Lancashire Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
