Chapter 17 of The Silver Lining: A Guernsey Story is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Silver Lining: A Guernsey Story is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE EFFECTS OF A SERMON. One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches. He had several reasons for doing so. He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera. As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
Chapter 17 of The Silver Lining: A Guernsey Story is here in full — 78 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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 “church” — one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading “One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.”
very opposed in nature or character or purpose
From this reading “One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.”
property of a personal character that is portable but not used in business
From this reading “THE EFFECTS OF A SERMON.”
additional unspecified odds and ends; more of the same
From this reading “He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera.”
plural of “reason” — a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading “He had several reasons for doing so.”
absentminded dreaming while awake
From this reading “As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.”
an address of a religious nature (usually delivered during a church service)
From this reading “THE EFFECTS OF A SERMON.”
first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading “One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.”
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 THE EFFECTS OF A SERMON.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
plural of “church” — one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
very opposed in nature or character or purpose
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading He had several reasons for doing so.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
property of a personal character that is portable but not used in business
From this reading THE EFFECTS OF A SERMON.
additional unspecified odds and ends; more of the same
From this reading He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He had several reasons for doing so.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera.
an established custom
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had several reasons for doing so.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had several reasons for doing so.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
not one, and not any
From this reading As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE EFFECTS OF A SERMON.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera.
plural of “reason” — a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading He had several reasons for doing so.
absentminded dreaming while awake
From this reading As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
an address of a religious nature (usually delivered during a church service)
From this reading THE EFFECTS OF A SERMON.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading He had several reasons for doing so.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He had several reasons for doing so.
first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE EFFECTS OF A SERMON.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One Sunday, contrary to his habit, Frank betook himself to one of the country churches.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading As he went on his way, he dropped into a none too pleasant reverie.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading He wanted to hear a French sermon; he wanted to be quiet, away from the world, etcetera.
Chapter 17 of The Silver Lining: A Guernsey Story by John Roussel holds 78 sentences, grouped into 16 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 17 holds 78 sentences of The Silver Lining: A Guernsey Story, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Silver Lining: A Guernsey Story by John Roussel exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 78 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 17 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 Silver Lining: A Guernsey Story by John Roussel on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3630 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27798 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27798, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Silver Lining: A Guernsey Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Silver Lining: A Guernsey Story 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 Silver Lining: A Guernsey Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
