Chapter 13 of The Oyster is here in full — 632 sentences across 127 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Oyster is here in full — 632 sentences across 127 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"OH, bother!" said Denise Blakeney. "Bother!" "What is it, Den?" Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers. His men feared Sir Cyril, and served him well.
Chapter 13 of The Oyster is here in full — 632 sentences across 127 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/126 · 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 act of arranging and adapting a piece of music
From this reading “Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.”
take the trouble to do something; concern oneself
From this reading “"OH, bother!" said Denise Blakeney.”
Greek missionary; the invention of the Cyrillic alphabet is attributed to him (826-869)
From this reading “Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.”
the habitation of wild animals
From this reading “"What is it, Den?"”
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading “His men feared Sir Cyril, and served him well.”
a group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals all of the same kind that are herded by humans
From this reading “Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.”
plural of “keeper” — someone in charge of other people
From this reading “Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.”
possessive form of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.”
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 “Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His men feared Sir Cyril, and served him well.
the act of arranging and adapting a piece of music
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "OH, bother!" said Denise Blakeney.
take the trouble to do something; concern oneself
From this reading "OH, bother!" said Denise Blakeney.
Greek missionary; the invention of the Cyrillic alphabet is attributed to him (826-869)
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
the habitation of wild animals
From this reading "What is it, Den?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "OH, bother!" said Denise Blakeney.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading His men feared Sir Cyril, and served him well.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
a group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals all of the same kind that are herded by humans
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His men feared Sir Cyril, and served him well.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What is it, Den?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "What is it, Den?"
plural of “keeper” — someone in charge of other people
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
the force of workers available
From this reading His men feared Sir Cyril, and served him well.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "OH, bother!" said Denise Blakeney.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "OH, bother!" said Denise Blakeney.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
past form of “serve” — serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading His men feared Sir Cyril, and served him well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
term of address for a man
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
(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 His men feared Sir Cyril, and served him well.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What is it, Den?"
possessive form of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Sir Cyril sat on his wife's bed; he was up early, out about the place, arranging the day, looking at his horses, his herd of shorthorns, speaking to the keepers.
Chapter 13 of The Oyster by Peer holds 632 sentences, grouped into 127 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 13 holds 632 sentences of The Oyster, unabridged, divided into 127 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Oyster by Peer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 632 sentences, grouped into 127 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 127 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 127 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 13 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 Oyster by Peer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6910 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35217 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35217, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 575 minutes of reading across 1382 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Oyster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Oyster 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 Oyster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
