Chapter 10 of The Happy Isles is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Happy Isles is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
None of them had struck him. That would have been thought cowardly. They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar. This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer. They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
Chapter 10 of The Happy Isles is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
plural of “button” — a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading “They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.”
a covering designed to be worn on a person's body
From this reading “They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.”
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading “They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.”
lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted
From this reading “That would have been thought cowardly.”
comparative of “fierce” — marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading “This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.”
(of hair) made smooth by applying a sticky or glossy substance
From this reading “They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.”
a humble request for help from someone in authority
From this reading “This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.”
twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached or from where it originates
From this reading “They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.”
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 “They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.”
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 This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading That would have been thought cowardly.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
plural of “button” — a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
a covering designed to be worn on a person's body
From this reading They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted
From this reading That would have been thought cowardly.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
opinion or judgment
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
comparative of “fierce” — marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading None of them had struck him.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading That would have been thought cowardly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading None of them had struck him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
not one, and not any
From this reading None of them had struck him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading None of them had struck him.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
and nothing more
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
(of hair) made smooth by applying a sticky or glossy substance
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
participate in games or sport
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
a humble request for help from someone in authority
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
not in physical motion
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading None of them had struck him.
past form of “suffer” — undergo or be subjected to
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
separate or cause to separate abruptly
From this reading They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That would have been thought cowardly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading None of them had struck him.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading That would have been thought cowardly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They had only plastered him with snow, in his mouth, in his ears, in his eyes, and down below his collar.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading This he could have suffered, still without a plea, had not their play become fiercer.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading That would have been thought cowardly.
twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached or from where it originates
From this reading They began to tear open his clothing, to wrench it off the buttons.
Chapter 10 of The Happy Isles by Basil King holds 410 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 10 holds 410 sentences of The Happy Isles, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Happy Isles by Basil King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 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 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 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.
