Chapter XVI of The Magnetic Girl, “The Dinner Which Failed,” is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVI of The Magnetic Girl, “The Dinner Which Failed,” is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus. It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus. I quite started when I got outside the front-door and saw it there. “Dear me!” I exclaimed.
Chapter XVI of The Magnetic Girl, “The Dinner Which Failed,” is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading “It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.”
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading “It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.”
uniform worn by some menservants and chauffeurs
From this reading “It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.”
an anthology of articles on a related subject or an anthology of the works of a single author
From this reading “It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.”
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading “I quite started when I got outside the front-door and saw it there.”
confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy
From this reading “It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.”
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading “It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.”
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 “It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.”
In this reading “It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.”
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 It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
dearly loved
From this reading “Dear me!”
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading I exclaimed.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I quite started when I got outside the front-door and saw it there.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I quite started when I got outside the front-door and saw it there.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
uniform worn by some menservants and chauffeurs
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Dear me!”
the force of workers available
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
an anthology of articles on a related subject or an anthology of the works of a single author
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading I quite started when I got outside the front-door and saw it there.
confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading I quite started when I got outside the front-door and saw it there.
on the contrary
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
cut with a saw
From this reading I quite started when I got outside the front-door and saw it there.
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading I quite started when I got outside the front-door and saw it there.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
in or at that place or location
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading It was one of the private sort, and there were two men in livery; but it was an omnibus.
at the time that
From this reading I quite started when I got outside the front-door and saw it there.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was rather a shock to discover that I was expected to travel with those five men in an omnibus.
Chapter 16 of The Magnetic Girl by Richard Marsh holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 16 holds 202 sentences of The Magnetic Girl, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Magnetic Girl by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 16 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 Magnetic Girl by Richard Marsh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4244 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64957 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64957, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 353 minutes of reading across 849 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Magnetic Girl section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Magnetic Girl 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 Magnetic Girl, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
