Chapter 6 of The History of Mr. Polly is here in full — 408 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 History of Mr. Polly is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle. Never mind! He became aware of Mr. Voules. He became aware of Mr. Voules as a watchful, blue eye of intense forcefulness. It was the eye of a man who has got hold of a situation.
Chapter 6 of The History of Mr. Polly is here in full — 408 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 long narrow passage (as in a cave or woods)
From this reading “A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.”
(sometimes followed by “of”) having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
From this reading “He became aware of Mr. Voules.”
physical energy or intensity
From this reading “He became aware of Mr. Voules as a watchful, blue eye of intense forcefulness.”
a person or animal that is markedly unusual or deformed
From this reading “A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.”
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading “He became aware of Mr. Voules as a watchful, blue eye of intense forcefulness.”
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading “A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.”
engaged in or accustomed to close observation
From this reading “He became aware of Mr. Voules as a watchful, blue eye of intense forcefulness.”
showing curiosity
From this reading “A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.”
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 freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
a long narrow passage (as in a cave or woods)
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules as a watchful, blue eye of intense forcefulness.
(sometimes followed by “of”) having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules as a watchful, blue eye of intense forcefulness.
the organ of sight
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules as a watchful, blue eye of intense forcefulness.
something many people believe that is false
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
physical energy or intensity
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules as a watchful, blue eye of intense forcefulness.
a person or animal that is markedly unusual or deformed
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
yet to be or coming
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
a young female
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading It was the eye of a man who has got hold of a situation.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the eye of a man who has got hold of a situation.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading It was the eye of a man who has got hold of a situation.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules as a watchful, blue eye of intense forcefulness.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the eye of a man who has got hold of a situation.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading It was the eye of a man who has got hold of a situation.
march in a procession
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Never mind!
a form of address for a man
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Never mind!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading It was the eye of a man who has got hold of a situation.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the eye of a man who has got hold of a situation.
engaged in or accustomed to close observation
From this reading He became aware of Mr. Voules as a watchful, blue eye of intense forcefulness.
at the time that
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
in or at the place that
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
which person or people
From this reading It was the eye of a man who has got hold of a situation.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
showing curiosity
From this reading A freak of fancy set him wondering where and when in the future a beautiful girl with red hair might march along some splendid aisle.
Chapter 6 of The History of Mr. Polly by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells holds 408 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 408 sentences of The History of Mr. Polly, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The History of Mr. Polly by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 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 History of Mr. Polly by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4489 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7308 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7308, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 374 minutes of reading across 898 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The History of Mr. Polly section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The History of Mr. Polly 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 History of Mr. Polly, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
