Chapter 10 of The Little School-Mothers is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Little School-Mothers is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You will never tell," began Harriet. "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it. You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina. Well, what did you do against her that day?" "The only thing I could do, and that was not much.
Chapter 10 of The Little School-Mothers is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “"No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.”
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “"No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.”
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading “"No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.”
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading “"No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.”
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading “You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina.”
with planning and intention
From this reading “You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina.”
a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading “"No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.”
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading “"No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.”
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 “"No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.”
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 "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina.
(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 "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "You will never tell," began Harriet.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "The only thing I could do, and that was not much.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Well, what did you do against her that day?"
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Well, what did you do against her that day?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Well, what did you do against her that day?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You will never tell," began Harriet.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Well, what did you do against her that day?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
with impatience; in an impatient manner
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading "The only thing I could do, and that was not much.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "You will never tell," began Harriet.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "The only thing I could do, and that was not much.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
and nothing more
From this reading "The only thing I could do, and that was not much.
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina.
with planning and intention
From this reading You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You know you have always plotted and planned against Robina.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
express in words
From this reading "You will never tell," began Harriet.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Well, what did you do against her that day?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
a special situation
From this reading "The only thing I could do, and that was not much.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading "No, no," said Jane, a trifle impatiently; "if I wanted to begin to tell all the things you have confided in me, I'd have a pretty bad time of it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The only thing I could do, and that was not much.
(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, what did you do against her that day?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Well, what did you do against her that day?"
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "You will never tell," began Harriet.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You will never tell," began Harriet.
Chapter 10 of The Little School-Mothers by L. T. Meade holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 10 holds 416 sentences of The Little School-Mothers, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Little School-Mothers by L. T. Meade exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 10 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 School-Mothers by L. T. Meade on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5512 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43140 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43140, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 459 minutes of reading across 1103 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Little School-Mothers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Little School-Mothers 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 School-Mothers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
