Chapter 11 of The Curved Blades is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Curved Blades is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Have you got a right to do all this? Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?" "No, you little goose! But I've managed all that part. I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.
Chapter 11 of The Curved Blades is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 person at all
From this reading “Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"”
turn up, loosen, or remove earth
From this reading “Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"”
a republic in northeastern Africa known as the United Arab Republic until 1971; site of an ancient civilization that flourished from 2600 to 30 BC
From this reading “Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"”
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading “I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.”
web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks
From this reading “"No, you little goose!”
plural of “like” — a similar kind
From this reading “Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"”
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading “But I've managed all that part.”
in or to any place at all
From this reading “Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"”
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.
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 "Have you got a right to do all this?
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "Have you got a right to do all this?
any person at all
From this reading Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I've managed all that part.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"
turn up, loosen, or remove earth
From this reading Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Have you got a right to do all this?
a republic in northeastern Africa known as the United Arab Republic until 1971; site of an ancient civilization that flourished from 2600 to 30 BC
From this reading Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"
divisible by two
From this reading I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.
web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks
From this reading "No, you little goose!
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Have you got a right to do all this?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Have you got a right to do all this?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But I've managed all that part.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.
plural of “like” — a similar kind
From this reading Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "No, you little goose!
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading But I've managed all that part.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, you little goose!
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading But I've managed all that part.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Have you got a right to do all this?
express in words
From this reading I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But I've managed all that part.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Have you got a right to do all this?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Have you got a right to do all this?
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.
(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 I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.
in or to any place at all
From this reading Can anybody dig wherever he likes in Egypt?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I won't tell even you about it, but I've--well, I've fixed it up.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Have you got a right to do all this?
Chapter 11 of The Curved Blades by Carolyn Wells holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 429 sentences of The Curved Blades, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Curved Blades by Carolyn Wells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Curved Blades by Carolyn Wells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5105 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45622 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45622, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 425 minutes of reading across 1021 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Curved Blades section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Curved Blades 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 Curved Blades, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
