Chapter 11 of The optimist is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The optimist is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At last, however, he did so. They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey. “Is that business on your mind, Flora?” He had thought for some time that it might be. “What?”
Chapter 11 of The optimist is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 no one else present.
From this reading “They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.”
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading ““Is that business on your mind, Flora?””
all the plant life in a particular region or period
From this reading ““Is that business on your mind, Flora?””
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading “At last, however, he did so.”
only a very short time before
From this reading “They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.”
from a time in the past until now
From this reading “They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.”
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading “They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.”
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading “They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.”
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 “He had thought for some time that it might be.”
In this reading “They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.”
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.
Having no one else present.
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At last, however, he did so.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He had thought for some time that it might be.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “Is that business on your mind, Flora?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading At last, however, he did so.
all the plant life in a particular region or period
From this reading “Is that business on your mind, Flora?”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He had thought for some time that it might be.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At last, however, he did so.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading At last, however, he did so.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is that business on your mind, Flora?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He had thought for some time that it might be.
immediately past
From this reading At last, however, he did so.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading He had thought for some time that it might be.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading “Is that business on your mind, Flora?”
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Is that business on your mind, Flora?”
only a very short time before
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading At last, however, he did so.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He had thought for some time that it might be.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Is that business on your mind, Flora?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading He had thought for some time that it might be.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He had thought for some time that it might be.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What?”
at the time that
From this reading They had scarcely been alone together since the day when she had told him of her visit to Mrs. Carey.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Is that business on your mind, Flora?”
Chapter 11 of The optimist by E. M. Delafield holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 11 holds 414 sentences of The optimist, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The optimist by E. M. Delafield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 11 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The optimist section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The optimist 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 optimist, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
