Chapter 21 of The Quaint Companions is here in full — 274 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Quaint Companions is here in full — 274 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh? Got nice and sunburnt, and done yourselves good, have you? Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang. Let me have a look at you both now!" He looked at Hilda.
Chapter 21 of The Quaint Companions is here in full — 274 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading “Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.”
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “Got nice and sunburnt, and done yourselves good, have you?”
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “"Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.”
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.”
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading “Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.”
used when the people spoken to are both doing and receiving the action
From this reading “Got nice and sunburnt, and done yourselves good, have you?”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Let me have a look at you both now!"”
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 Let me have a look at you both now!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Let me have a look at you both now!"
any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
the two together, not just one
From this reading Let me have a look at you both now!"
dearly loved
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Got nice and sunburnt, and done yourselves good, have you?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
a young female
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Got nice and sunburnt, and done yourselves good, have you?
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Got nice and sunburnt, and done yourselves good, have you?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Got nice and sunburnt, and done yourselves good, have you?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked at Hilda.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He looked at Hilda.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
and nothing more
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Let me have a look at you both now!"
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Let me have a look at you both now!"
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked at Hilda.
engage in
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Let me have a look at you both now!"
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading Got nice and sunburnt, and done yourselves good, have you?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Let me have a look at you both now!"
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading "Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
suffering from overexposure to direct sunlight
From this reading Got nice and sunburnt, and done yourselves good, have you?
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
up to a particular time
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Bee, my dear, you might just touch the bell--I told the girl not to make the tea until we rang.
(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, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, my dears," said the Professor, "and how are you, eh?
used when the people spoken to are both doing and receiving the action
From this reading Got nice and sunburnt, and done yourselves good, have you?
Chapter 21 of The Quaint Companions by Leonard Merrick holds 274 sentences, grouped into 55 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 21 holds 274 sentences of The Quaint Companions, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Quaint Companions by Leonard Merrick exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 274 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 21 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 Quaint Companions by Leonard Merrick on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4262 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43616 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43616, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 355 minutes of reading across 853 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Quaint Companions section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Quaint Companions 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 Quaint Companions, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
