Chapter 6 of The Privet Hedge is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Privet Hedge is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road. At the corner she stood still and withdrew her arm. "I can manage all right now. It was so dark under the shadow of that wall. Good night."
Chapter 6 of The Privet Hedge is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
plural of “back” — the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
From this reading “The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.”
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading “The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.”
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading “The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.”
past form of “gleam” — be shiny, as if wet
From this reading “The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.”
most important element
From this reading “The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.”
be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading “"I can manage all right now.”
not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture
From this reading “The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.”
inflected form of “withdraw” — pull back or move away or backward
From this reading “At the corner she stood still and withdrew her arm.”
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.
(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 "I can manage all right now.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading At the corner she stood still and withdrew her arm.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the corner she stood still and withdrew her arm.
plural of “back” — the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "I can manage all right now.
as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading At the corner she stood still and withdrew her arm.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading It was so dark under the shadow of that wall.
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
past form of “gleam” — be shiny, as if wet
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Good night."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading At the corner she stood still and withdrew her arm.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I can manage all right now.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
indicating the most important performer or role
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
most important element
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading "I can manage all right now.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Good night."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "I can manage all right now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was so dark under the shadow of that wall.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
a course of conduct
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "I can manage all right now.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading It was so dark under the shadow of that wall.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At the corner she stood still and withdrew her arm.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It was so dark under the shadow of that wall.
not in physical motion
From this reading At the corner she stood still and withdrew her arm.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading At the corner she stood still and withdrew her arm.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was so dark under the shadow of that wall.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
precisely as stated
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading The sea gleamed very faintly under the black sky as they turned their backs on it and walked cautiously along the uneven path leading to the main road.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading It was so dark under the shadow of that wall.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was so dark under the shadow of that wall.
inflected form of “withdraw” — pull back or move away or backward
From this reading At the corner she stood still and withdrew her arm.
Chapter 6 of The Privet Hedge by J. E. Buckrose holds 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 6 holds 394 sentences of The Privet Hedge, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Privet Hedge by J. E. Buckrose exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 6 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 Privet Hedge by J. E. Buckrose on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3975 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24333 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24333, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 331 minutes of reading across 795 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Privet Hedge section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Privet Hedge 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 Privet Hedge, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
