Chapter 6 of The Happy Isles is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Happy Isles is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There was now no time to lose. The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs. With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good. It was not there. Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.
Chapter 6 of The Happy Isles is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
a ladle that has a cup with a long handle
From this reading “The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.”
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.”
having the place or position changed
From this reading “The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.”
on a floor below
From this reading “The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.”
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading “The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.”
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading “The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.”
pot for brewing tea; usually has a spout and handle
From this reading “With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.”
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.
In this reading “Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.”
In this reading “The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.”
In this reading “The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.”
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.
anew
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
a ladle that has a cup with a long handle
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.
having the place or position changed
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
on a floor below
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was not there.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading There was now no time to lose.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
not any; not one
From this reading There was now no time to lose.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not there.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading There was now no time to lose.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading Dismayed, startled, he looked for it on the floor; but it was not there.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
pot for brewing tea; usually has a spout and handle
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The noise of the falling dipper might have disturbed his mother, so that at any minute she might come downstairs.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was now no time to lose.
a special situation
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading There was now no time to lose.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There was now no time to lose.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was now no time to lose.
in or at the place that
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With the teapot again in his hands he turned to the table where he had left the thing which was to do her good.
Chapter 6 of The Happy Isles by Basil King holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 6 holds 406 sentences of The Happy Isles, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Happy Isles by Basil King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 6 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 Happy Isles by Basil King on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9301 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61344 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61344, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1861 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Happy Isles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Happy Isles 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 Happy Isles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
