Chapter 11 of The best short stories of 1917, and is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The best short stories of 1917, and is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity. It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes. "But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?" Magin, after a second, laughed. "But Gaston, am I then an enemy?"
Chapter 11 of The best short stories of 1917, and is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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 feeling of delighted approval and liking
From this reading “Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity.”
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity.”
of or relating to or characteristic of Brazil or the people of Brazil
From this reading “It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.”
the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
From this reading “It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.”
a person of German nationality
From this reading “"But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?"”
preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed
From this reading “It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.”
trouble or confusion resulting from complexity
From this reading “Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity.”
bound by or as if by an oath
From this reading “It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.”
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 "But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?"
a feeling of delighted approval and liking
From this reading Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity.
later than; following
From this reading Magin, after a second, laughed.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "But Gaston, am I then an enemy?"
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "But Gaston, am I then an enemy?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?"
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
of or relating to or characteristic of Brazil or the people of Brazil
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?"
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
clothing in general
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
an opposing military force
From this reading "But Gaston, am I then an enemy?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity.
a person of German nationality
From this reading "But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Magin, after a second, laughed.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Magin, after a second, laughed.
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading "But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?"
preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
trouble or confusion resulting from complexity
From this reading Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Magin, after a second, laughed.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
bound by or as if by an oath
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
at the time that
From this reading It suddenly came back to him how this original Brazilian had sworn when the chest caught his clothes.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Gaston listened with admiration, astonishment, and perplexity.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "But, Monsieur, I thought--Are you, then, a German?"
Chapter 11 of The best short stories of 1917, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien holds 457 sentences, grouped into 92 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 11 holds 457 sentences of The best short stories of 1917, and, unabridged, divided into 92 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The best short stories of 1917, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 457 sentences, grouped into 92 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 92 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 92 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 11 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 The best short stories of 1917, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 18263 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20872 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20872, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3653 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The best short stories of 1917, and section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The best short stories of 1917, and 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 The best short stories of 1917, and, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
