Chapter 7 of The Little Clown is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Little Clown is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment. His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened. He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform. 'I want to go to Chesterham,' he said. 'Well, you can't go to Chesterham to-night,' was the answer.
Chapter 7 of The Little Clown is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.”
a state of being confined (usually for a short time)
From this reading “JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.”
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading “His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.”
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading “JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.”
a raised horizontal surface
From this reading “He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.”
a person employed to carry luggage and supplies
From this reading “JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.”
to a great degree
From this reading “His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.”
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 “JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.”
In this reading “JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.”
In this reading “JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.”
In this reading “His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
react verbally
From this reading 'Well, you can't go to Chesterham to-night,' was the answer.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Well, you can't go to Chesterham to-night,' was the answer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'I want to go to Chesterham,' he said.
a state of being confined (usually for a short time)
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
made afraid
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading 'I want to go to Chesterham,' he said.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'I want to go to Chesterham,' he said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.
a raised horizontal surface
From this reading He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.
a person employed to carry luggage and supplies
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'I want to go to Chesterham,' he said.
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Well, you can't go to Chesterham to-night,' was the answer.
precisely as stated
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading 'I want to go to Chesterham,' he said.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Well, you can't go to Chesterham to-night,' was the answer.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading 'Well, you can't go to Chesterham to-night,' was the answer.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
to a great degree
From this reading His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'Well, you can't go to Chesterham to-night,' was the answer.
Chapter 7 of The Little Clown by Thomas Cobb holds 72 sentences, grouped into 15 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 7 holds 72 sentences of The Little Clown, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Little Clown by Thomas Cobb exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 72 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 7 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 Little Clown by Thomas Cobb on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1050 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31371 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31371, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 87 minutes of reading across 210 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Little Clown section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Little Clown 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 Little Clown, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
