Chapter 11 of The House Behind the Cedars is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The House Behind the Cedars is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence. They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town." "Quite right, my boy," assented the doctor. "None but the best are good enough for the best. You must bring her to Patesville some day.
Chapter 11 of The House Behind the Cedars is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “You must bring her to Patesville some day.”
a closed carriage with four wheels and seats for four passengers
From this reading “"Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.”
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “"Quite right, my boy," assented the doctor.”
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading “They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."”
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading “"Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.”
(astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided
From this reading “They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."”
not one, and not any
From this reading “"None but the best are good enough for the best.”
having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
From this reading “"Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.”
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 They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Quite right, my boy," assented the doctor.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
a youthful male person
From this reading "Quite right, my boy," assented the doctor.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading You must bring her to Patesville some day.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading "Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "None but the best are good enough for the best.
a closed carriage with four wheels and seats for four passengers
From this reading "Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading You must bring her to Patesville some day.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading "Quite right, my boy," assented the doctor.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "None but the best are good enough for the best.
a social unit living together
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "None but the best are good enough for the best.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "None but the best are good enough for the best.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading "Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
(astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
used to form the superlative
From this reading "Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading You must bring her to Patesville some day.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Quite right, my boy," assented the doctor.
not one, and not any
From this reading "None but the best are good enough for the best.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You must bring her to Patesville some day.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
From this reading "Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading "Quite right, my boy," assented the doctor.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Quite right, my boy," assented the doctor.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading You must bring her to Patesville some day.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Her brother is the most prominent lawyer of Clarence.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You must bring her to Patesville some day.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading They live in a fine old family mansion, and are among the best people of the town."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You must bring her to Patesville some day.
Chapter 11 of The House Behind the Cedars by Charles W. (Charles Waddell) Chesnutt holds 157 sentences, grouped into 32 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 11 holds 157 sentences of The House Behind the Cedars, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The House Behind the Cedars by Charles W. (Charles Waddell) Chesnutt exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 11 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 House Behind the Cedars by Charles W. (Charles Waddell) Chesnutt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3362 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #472 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #472, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 280 minutes of reading across 673 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The House Behind the Cedars section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The House Behind the Cedars 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 House Behind the Cedars, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
