Chapter 26 of The Great Accident is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Great Accident is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day. He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him. When she came into the dining room, he said: “Good morning.” Hetty nodded, without answering.
Chapter 26 of The Great Accident is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
replying
From this reading “Hetty nodded, without answering.”
goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
From this reading “He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.”
eat an early morning meal
From this reading “He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.”
the act of eating dinner
From this reading “When she came into the dining room, he said:”
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “Hetty nodded, without answering.”
inflected form of “oversleep” — sleep longer than intended
From this reading “He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.”
an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal
From this reading “He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.”
(usually followed by “to”) not having the necessary means or skill or know-how
From this reading “A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.”
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.
a room used for dining
In this reading “When she came into the dining room, he said:”
In this reading “A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.”
In this reading “When she came into the dining room, he said:”
obtain, especially accidentally
In this reading “When she came into the dining room, he said:”
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 WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
Having no one else present.
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
replying
From this reading Hetty nodded, without answering.
goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading When she came into the dining room, he said:
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
the act of eating dinner
From this reading When she came into the dining room, he said:
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
set up or found
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “Good morning.”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading When she came into the dining room, he said:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading “Good morning.”
immediately following in time or order
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading Hetty nodded, without answering.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
inflected form of “oversleep” — sleep longer than intended
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading When she came into the dining room, he said:
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading When she came into the dining room, he said:
an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When she came into the dining room, he said:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When she came into the dining room, he said:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
(usually followed by “to”) not having the necessary means or skill or know-how
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
at the time that
From this reading When she came into the dining room, he said:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He had overslept, was late for breakfast, and ate it alone with Hetty serving him.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Hetty nodded, without answering.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading A WORD FROM JOAN Wint found himself unable to put Hetty out of his mind, next day.
Chapter 26 of The Great Accident by Ben Ames Williams holds 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 26 holds 166 sentences of The Great Accident, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of The Great Accident by Ben Ames Williams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 26 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 Great Accident by Ben Ames Williams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12440 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64002 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64002, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2488 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Great Accident section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The Great Accident 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 Great Accident, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
