Chapter 10 of The Flirt is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Flirt is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved. "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man. This was machine-work, easy and accurate. "Cora----" he began, breathlessly. "There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.
Chapter 10 of The Flirt is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
conforming exactly or almost exactly to fact or to a standard or performing with total accuracy
From this reading “This was machine-work, easy and accurate.”
in a breathless manner
From this reading “"Cora----" he began, breathlessly.”
(Greek mythology) daughter of Zeus and Demeter; made queen of the underworld by Pluto in ancient mythology; identified with Roman Proserpina
From this reading “Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.”
death of a person
From this reading “Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.”
full of life and energy
From this reading “"There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.”
in a cryptic manner
From this reading “Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.”
continuously varying
From this reading “"There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.”
feeling intense pleasurable excitement
From this reading “"I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.”
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 "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
conforming exactly or almost exactly to fact or to a standard or performing with total accuracy
From this reading This was machine-work, easy and accurate.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.
any thing at all
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "Cora----" he began, breathlessly.
in a breathless manner
From this reading "Cora----" he began, breathlessly.
an abrupt discourteous manner
From this reading "There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.
(Greek mythology) daughter of Zeus and Demeter; made queen of the underworld by Pluto in ancient mythology; identified with Roman Proserpina
From this reading Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading This was machine-work, easy and accurate.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.
death of a person
From this reading Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Cora----" he began, breathlessly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading "There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
full of life and energy
From this reading "There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was machine-work, easy and accurate.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.
in a cryptic manner
From this reading Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.
continuously varying
From this reading "There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading Cora looked grave and sweet; she seemed mysteriously moved.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This was machine-work, easy and accurate.
feeling intense pleasurable excitement
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "There!" she exclaimed, shifting on the instant to a lively brusqueness.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This was machine-work, easy and accurate.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "I never do anything I don't mean," she said in a low voice which thrilled the little man.
Chapter 10 of The Flirt by Booth Tarkington holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 10 holds 186 sentences of The Flirt, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Flirt by Booth Tarkington exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 Flirt by Booth Tarkington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4860 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #297 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #297, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 972 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Flirt section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Flirt 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 Flirt, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
