Chapter 1 of The Jolliest Term on Record is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Jolliest Term on Record is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"And you're as blind as a bat! Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us? Why are we having our summer dresses made in April? Why are all our underclothes being overhauled and counted? Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
Chapter 1 of The Jolliest Term on Record is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 11/53 · 5 reading units · Lines 51–55
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.
the month following March and preceding May
From this reading “Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?”
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?”
nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate
From this reading “"And you're as blind as a bat!”
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading “Why are all our underclothes being overhauled and counted?”
plural of “dress” — a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
From this reading “Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?”
past form of “overhaul” — travel past
From this reading “Why are all our underclothes being overhauled and counted?”
coated with paint
From this reading “Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?”
(used in the plural) trousers that end at or above the knee
From this reading “Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?”
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 “Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?”
In this reading “Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?”
In this reading “Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?”
In this reading “Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?”
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 "And you're as blind as a bat!
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Why are all our underclothes being overhauled and counted?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And you're as blind as a bat!
the month following March and preceding May
From this reading Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "And you're as blind as a bat!
nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate
From this reading "And you're as blind as a bat!
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading Why are all our underclothes being overhauled and counted?
people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading "And you're as blind as a bat!
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading Why are all our underclothes being overhauled and counted?
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
plural of “dress” — a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
From this reading Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
a nonmetallic univalent element that is normally a colorless and odorless highly flammable diatomic gas; the simplest and lightest and most abundant element in the universe
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?
the basic unit of thermodynamic temperature adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
conformity or harmony
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
the literary culture
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?
past form of “overhaul” — travel past
From this reading Why are all our underclothes being overhauled and counted?
coated with paint
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
(used in the plural) trousers that end at or above the knee
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
undergarment worn next to the skin and under the outer garments
From this reading Why are all our underclothes being overhauled and counted?
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why are we having our summer dresses made in April?
in the company of; together with
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
the day immediately before today
From this reading Why did two new trunks arrive yesterday, with K. H. M. and G. C. M. painted on them in red letters?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And you're as blind as a bat!
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading Can't you see for yourself that Father and Mother have got some secret they're keeping from us?
Chapter 1 of The Jolliest Term on Record by Angela Brazil holds 269 sentences, grouped into 54 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 1 holds 269 sentences of The Jolliest Term on Record, unabridged, divided into 54 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Jolliest Term on Record by Angela Brazil exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 269 sentences, grouped into 54 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 54 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 54 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 1 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 Jolliest Term on Record by Angela Brazil on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4797 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33910 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33910, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 399 minutes of reading across 960 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Jolliest Term on Record section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Jolliest Term on Record 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 Jolliest Term on Record, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
