Chapter 9 of The Little Clown is here in full — 68 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Little Clown is here in full — 68 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it. By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open. 'You seem a bit sleepy,' said the clown. 'I'm hungry, too,' answered Jimmy. 'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
Chapter 9 of The Little Clown is here in full — 68 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
with attention; in an attentive manner
From this reading “THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.”
a travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals
From this reading “THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.”
a rude or vulgar fool
From this reading “THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.”
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading “By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.”
feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading “'I'm hungry, too,' answered Jimmy.”
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading “THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.”
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading “THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.”
ready to fall asleep
From this reading “'You seem a bit sleepy,' said the clown.”
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 “By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.”
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 THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading 'I'm hungry, too,' answered Jimmy.
with attention; in an attentive manner
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading 'You seem a bit sleepy,' said the clown.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
a travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
a rude or vulgar fool
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading 'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
take in solid food
From this reading 'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
opinion or judgment
From this reading By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading 'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.
feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading 'I'm hungry, too,' answered Jimmy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'I'm hungry, too,' answered Jimmy.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading 'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
To move from a closed position.
From this reading By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'You seem a bit sleepy,' said the clown.
only a very short time before
From this reading By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading 'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading 'You seem a bit sleepy,' said the clown.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading 'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
ready to fall asleep
From this reading 'You seem a bit sleepy,' said the clown.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading By the time he finished he could scarcely keep his eyes open.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading 'I'm hungry, too,' answered Jimmy.
precisely as stated
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
(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 sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to eat, do you?'
during the time that
From this reading THE CIRCUS The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a great deal while he told it.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'You seem a bit sleepy,' said the clown.
Chapter 9 of The Little Clown by Thomas Cobb holds 68 sentences, grouped into 14 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 9 holds 68 sentences of The Little Clown, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Little Clown by Thomas Cobb exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 68 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 9 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.
