Chapter 30 of The City of Beautiful Nonsense is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of The City of Beautiful Nonsense is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand. He touched her to see if she was real. Her hand answered. She caught his finger. Then she let it fall.
Chapter 30 of The City of Beautiful Nonsense is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.”
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading “She caught his finger.”
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading “Then she let it fall.”
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading “She caught his finger.”
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading “THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.”
plural of “quality” — an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading “THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.”
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading “He touched her to see if she was real.”
having come into contact
From this reading “He touched her to see if she was real.”
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.
In this reading “THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.”
to cause inconvenience or discomfort to
In this reading “THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.”
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.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Her hand answered.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading She caught his finger.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading Then she let it fall.
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading She caught his finger.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He touched her to see if she was real.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He touched her to see if she was real.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He touched her to see if she was real.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Then she let it fall.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Then she let it fall.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
plural of “quality” — an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading He touched her to see if she was real.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He touched her to see if she was real.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He touched her to see if she was real.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE QUALITIES OF IGNATIA In amazement, John put out his hand.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then she let it fall.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He touched her to see if she was real.
having come into contact
From this reading He touched her to see if she was real.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He touched her to see if she was real.
Chapter 30 of The City of Beautiful Nonsense by E. Temple (Ernest Temple) Thurston holds 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 30 holds 173 sentences of The City of Beautiful Nonsense, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of The City of Beautiful Nonsense by E. Temple (Ernest Temple) Thurston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 30 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 City of Beautiful Nonsense by E. Temple (Ernest Temple) Thurston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5560 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41752 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41752, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 463 minutes of reading across 1112 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The City of Beautiful Nonsense section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The City of Beautiful Nonsense 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 City of Beautiful Nonsense, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
