Chapter 22 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 XXII
Chapter 22 of The Happy Isles is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered. "So sorry to be late. I'd been for a long drive. I wanted to think. I had no idea what time it was.
Chapter 22 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.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading “Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.”
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading “I'd been for a long drive.”
done or occurring in a brief period of time
From this reading “Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.”
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading “Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.”
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “"So sorry to be late.”
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.”
stressing a normally weak beat
From this reading “Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.”
the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
From this reading “Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.”
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 “Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.”
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'd been for a long drive.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "So sorry to be late.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I'd been for a long drive.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading I'd been for a long drive.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I'd been for a long drive.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had no idea what time it was.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wanted to think.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'd been for a long drive.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I had no idea what time it was.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I had no idea what time it was.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading "So sorry to be late.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading I'd been for a long drive.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
not any; not one
From this reading I had no idea what time it was.
done or occurring in a brief period of time
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So sorry to be late.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading "So sorry to be late.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
stressing a normally weak beat
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading I wanted to think.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading I had no idea what time it was.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "So sorry to be late.
the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading I wanted to think.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I had no idea what time it was.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I had no idea what time it was.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Mrs. Whitelaw came in with the rapid step and breathless, syncopated utterance he remembered.
Chapter 22 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 22 holds 406 sentences of The Happy Isles, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 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 22 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.
