Chapter 10 of The Dinner Club is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Dinner Club is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“So this was your present, Jimmy.” Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright. “Yes, Molly,” he smiled. “Do you like it?” “I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.
Chapter 10 of The Dinner Club is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading “Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.”
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading ““I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.”
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading ““So this was your present, Jimmy.””
popular aquarium fish
From this reading “Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.”
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading ““I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading ““Yes, Molly,” he smiled.”
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading “Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.”
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading ““I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Do you like it?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Yes, Molly,” he smiled.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Do you like it?”
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading “So this was your present, Jimmy.”
and nothing more
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Do you like it?”
popular aquarium fish
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “So this was your present, Jimmy.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading “I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “Yes, Molly,” he smiled.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “So this was your present, Jimmy.”
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “So this was your present, Jimmy.”
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading “I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.
precisely as stated
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “So this was your present, Jimmy.”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Molly was speaking just behind him, and her eyes were very bright.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t understand what’s happened,” she said slowly.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, Molly,” he smiled.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Do you like it?”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “So this was your present, Jimmy.”
Chapter 10 of The Dinner Club by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile holds 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 10 holds 394 sentences of The Dinner Club, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Dinner Club by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 10 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 Dinner Club by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4821 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60525 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60525, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 401 minutes of reading across 965 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dinner Club section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Dinner Club 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 Dinner Club, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
