Chapter 11 of The Comic Almanack, Volume 2 is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Comic Almanack, Volume 2 is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail. Ambition is like hunting for fleas. If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass. Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor. Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
Chapter 11 of The Comic Almanack, Volume 2 is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
(astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit
From this reading “A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.”
record in a public office or in a court of law
From this reading “Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.”
plural of “flea” — any wingless bloodsucking parasitic insect noted for ability to leap
From this reading “Ambition is like hunting for fleas.”
(figurative) something that hinders or handicaps
From this reading “Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.”
edge tool used in shaving
From this reading “Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.”
remove body hair with a razor
From this reading “Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.”
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading “Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.”
an established custom
From this reading “If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.”
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 “If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.”
In this reading “Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.”
In this reading “A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.”
In this reading “A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.”
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 comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
a cherished desire
From this reading Ambition is like hunting for fleas.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
put or pin the blame on
From this reading Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.
people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
an alloy of copper and zinc
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
(astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.
record in a public office or in a court of law
From this reading Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.
plural of “flea” — any wingless bloodsucking parasitic insect noted for ability to leap
From this reading Ambition is like hunting for fleas.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Ambition is like hunting for fleas.
yet to be or coming
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
the act of giving
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
the pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals regarded as a sport
From this reading Ambition is like hunting for fleas.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ambition is like hunting for fleas.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Ambition is like hunting for fleas.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
(figurative) something that hinders or handicaps
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
edge tool used in shaving
From this reading Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.
a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
remove body hair with a razor
From this reading Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading A comet can be caught any time by putting a little salt on its tail.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Looking into the future is like giving a blind man a pair of spectacles to see through a millstone.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
an established custom
From this reading If a golden key wont open a woman's heart, try one of brass.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Shave with a file, if you like, but don't blame the razor.
Chapter 11 of The Comic Almanack, Volume 2 by William Makepeace Thackeray holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of The Comic Almanack, Volume 2, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Comic Almanack, Volume 2 by William Makepeace Thackeray exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Comic Almanack, Volume 2 by William Makepeace Thackeray on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7034 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52204 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52204, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 586 minutes of reading across 1407 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Comic Almanack, Volume 2 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Comic Almanack, Volume 2 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 Comic Almanack, Volume 2, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
