Chapter 16 of The best short stories of 1917, and is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The best short stories of 1917, and is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze. "Well, you see, Mrs.--" "Call me Mary. It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me." A sudden smile lighted her face. "Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.
Chapter 16 of The best short stories of 1917, and is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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 seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.”
made afraid
From this reading “"Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.”
a long fixed look
From this reading “She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.”
set afire or burning
From this reading “A sudden smile lighted her face.”
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading “"Well, you see, Mrs.--" "Call me Mary.”
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading “She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.”
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading “She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.”
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading “A sudden smile lighted her face.”
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 It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Well, you see, Mrs.--" "Call me Mary.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
opinion or judgment
From this reading "Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading A sudden smile lighted her face.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
made afraid
From this reading "Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
a long fixed look
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
set afire or burning
From this reading A sudden smile lighted her face.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading "Well, you see, Mrs.--" "Call me Mary.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Well, you see, Mrs.--" "Call me Mary.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Well, you see, Mrs.--" "Call me Mary.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.
To recall to mind.
From this reading "Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Well, you see, Mrs.--" "Call me Mary.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading A sudden smile lighted her face.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading A sudden smile lighted her face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She drew her chair close to Larry, but the small man turned shyly from her searching gaze.
(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, you see, Mrs.--" "Call me Mary.
at the time that
From this reading "Well I remember how frightened you looked when first you set eyes on me.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading It's a year an' more now since the first time you brought Dan home to me."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, you see, Mrs.--" "Call me Mary.
Chapter 16 of The best short stories of 1917, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien holds 448 sentences, grouped into 90 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 16 holds 448 sentences of The best short stories of 1917, and, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 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 448 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 16 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.
