Chapter 23 of The Rich Little Poor Boy is here in full — 341 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Rich Little Poor Boy is here in full — 341 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ROSES THAT TATTLED "CIS BAR-R-BER-R-R! Cis Bar-r-r-ber-r-r! Cis Bar-r-r-ber-r!" It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient. The day was Sunday, so that Cis, as well as Big Tom, was at home.
Chapter 23 of The Rich Little Poor Boy is here in full — 341 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/68 · 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.
a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
From this reading “It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.”
restless or short-tempered under delay or opposition
From this reading “It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.”
a native or inhabitant of Italy
From this reading “It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.”
offensively self-assured or given to exercising usually unwarranted power
From this reading “It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.”
plural of “rose” — any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading “ROSES THAT TATTLED "CIS BAR-R-BER-R-R!”
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading “It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.”
a request to be present
From this reading “It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.”
past form of “tattle” — speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
From this reading “ROSES THAT TATTLED "CIS BAR-R-BER-R-R!”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The day was Sunday, so that Cis, as well as Big Tom, was at home.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The day was Sunday, so that Cis, as well as Big Tom, was at home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ROSES THAT TATTLED "CIS BAR-R-BER-R-R!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cis Bar-r-r-ber-r!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cis Bar-r-r-ber-r-r!
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The day was Sunday, so that Cis, as well as Big Tom, was at home.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
an alliance made up of states that had been Soviet Socialist Republics in the Soviet Union prior to its dissolution in Dec 1991
From this reading ROSES THAT TATTLED "CIS BAR-R-BER-R-R!
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The day was Sunday, so that Cis, as well as Big Tom, was at home.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading The day was Sunday, so that Cis, as well as Big Tom, was at home.
restless or short-tempered under delay or opposition
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
a native or inhabitant of Italy
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
offensively self-assured or given to exercising usually unwarranted power
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
plural of “rose” — any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading ROSES THAT TATTLED "CIS BAR-R-BER-R-R!
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The day was Sunday, so that Cis, as well as Big Tom, was at home.
a request to be present
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading The day was Sunday, so that Cis, as well as Big Tom, was at home.
past form of “tattle” — speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
From this reading ROSES THAT TATTLED "CIS BAR-R-BER-R-R!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading ROSES THAT TATTLED "CIS BAR-R-BER-R-R!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
male cat
From this reading The day was Sunday, so that Cis, as well as Big Tom, was at home.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the shrill voice of the Italian janitress, calling up from the area, and the summons was peremptory and impatient.
(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 The day was Sunday, so that Cis, as well as Big Tom, was at home.
Chapter 23 of The Rich Little Poor Boy by Eleanor Gates holds 341 sentences, grouped into 69 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 23 holds 341 sentences of The Rich Little Poor Boy, unabridged, divided into 69 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Rich Little Poor Boy by Eleanor Gates exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 341 sentences, grouped into 69 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 69 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 69 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 23 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 Rich Little Poor Boy by Eleanor Gates on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9127 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24663 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24663, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1826 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rich Little Poor Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Rich Little Poor Boy 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 Rich Little Poor Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
