Chapter 24 of The Simpkins Plot is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of The Simpkins Plot is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening. At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home. "I'm sorry--" said the Major, and then paused. "I hope not," said Meldon. "You ought not to be."
Chapter 24 of The Simpkins Plot is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
past form of “dine” — have supper; eat dinner
From this reading “Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.”
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading “At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.”
being one more than ten
From this reading “At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.”
a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans
From this reading “Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.”
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading “Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.”
according to the clock
From this reading “At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.”
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading “"I'm sorry--" said the Major, and then paused.”
depleted of energy, force, or strength
From this reading “Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.”
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 Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "You ought not to be."
past form of “dine” — have supper; eat dinner
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.
being one more than ten
From this reading At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading "I hope not," said Meldon.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I hope not," said Meldon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm sorry--" said the Major, and then paused.
a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "I hope not," said Meldon.
according to the clock
From this reading At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading "You ought not to be."
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading "I'm sorry--" said the Major, and then paused.
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I'm sorry--" said the Major, and then paused.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading "I'm sorry--" said the Major, and then paused.
depleted of energy, force, or strength
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I'm sorry--" said the Major, and then paused.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "I'm sorry--" said the Major, and then paused.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At eleven o'clock they started on their drive home.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You ought not to be."
precisely as stated
From this reading Major Kent and Meldon dined at Ballymoy House, and spent a very pleasant evening.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You ought not to be."
Chapter 24 of The Simpkins Plot by George A. Birmingham holds 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 24 holds 127 sentences of The Simpkins Plot, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of The Simpkins Plot by George A. Birmingham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 24 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 Simpkins Plot by George A. Birmingham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5802 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19586 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19586, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 483 minutes of reading across 1161 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Simpkins Plot section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Simpkins Plot 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 Simpkins Plot, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
