Chapter 15 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan 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 XV
Chapter 15 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake. MERYLL Strange— and at such an hour! What can it mean! [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright! What can the portent mean?
Chapter 15 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan 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.
any utterance produced simultaneously by a group
From this reading “[Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!”
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading “[Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!”
having lost your job
From this reading “FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.”
an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading “[Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!”
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.”
a sign of something about to happen
From this reading “What can the portent mean?”
except if; if not
From this reading “FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.”
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading “FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.”
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 [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading MERYLL Strange— and at such an hour!
an obsolete firearm with a long barrel
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading MERYLL Strange— and at such an hour!
the past participle of “be”
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading What can it mean!
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
any utterance produced simultaneously by a group
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
to come or go into
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
having lost your job
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading MERYLL Strange— and at such an hour!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading What can it mean!
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading What can it mean!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MERYLL Strange— and at such an hour!
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
a sign of something about to happen
From this reading What can the portent mean?
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading MERYLL Strange— and at such an hour!
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading MERYLL Strange— and at such an hour!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [Enter CHORUS excitedly CHORUS Now what can that have been— A shot so late at night, Enough to cause a fright!
except if; if not
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What can it mean!
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus— Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
Chapter 15 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan by Arthur Sullivan holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 15 holds 400 sentences of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan by Arthur Sullivan exactly as it stands in the public-domain 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 15 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 Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan by Arthur Sullivan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7513 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #808 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #808, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1503 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan 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 Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
