Chapter 16 of The Story of a Governess is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Story of a Governess is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Every family has a skeleton in some closet. So says the proverb; but is it true? We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true. To half of the world perhaps it is a foolish fiction. They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
Chapter 16 of The Story of a Governess is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/66 · 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 “case” — an occurrence of something
From this reading “We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.”
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading “Every family has a skeleton in some closet.”
a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact
From this reading “To half of the world perhaps it is a foolish fiction.”
plural of “neighbor” — a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading “They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.”
a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
From this reading “So says the proverb; but is it true?”
something reduced to its minimal form
From this reading “Every family has a skeleton in some closet.”
free from ambiguity
From this reading “They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.”
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading “They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.”
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.
In this reading “We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.”
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 Every family has a skeleton in some closet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
(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 We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.
(sometimes followed by “of”) having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
From this reading We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading So says the proverb; but is it true?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
plural of “case” — an occurrence of something
From this reading We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading Every family has a skeleton in some closet.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every family has a skeleton in some closet.
a social unit living together
From this reading Every family has a skeleton in some closet.
a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact
From this reading To half of the world perhaps it is a foolish fiction.
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading To half of the world perhaps it is a foolish fiction.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading To half of the world perhaps it is a foolish fiction.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Every family has a skeleton in some closet.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Every family has a skeleton in some closet.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading So says the proverb; but is it true?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading So says the proverb; but is it true?
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.
plural of “neighbor” — a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.
make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
by chance
From this reading To half of the world perhaps it is a foolish fiction.
a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
From this reading So says the proverb; but is it true?
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading So says the proverb; but is it true?
something reduced to its minimal form
From this reading Every family has a skeleton in some closet.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So says the proverb; but is it true?
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Every family has a skeleton in some closet.
free from ambiguity
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading So says the proverb; but is it true?
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To half of the world perhaps it is a foolish fiction.
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading So says the proverb; but is it true?
a formal word for “on”
From this reading They have troubles, but they are above-board, straightforward troubles upon which their neighbors can offer sympathy.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading We are all of us aware of many cases in which it is not true.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading To half of the world perhaps it is a foolish fiction.
Chapter 16 of The Story of a Governess by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant holds 330 sentences, grouped into 66 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 16 holds 330 sentences of The Story of a Governess, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Story of a Governess by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 330 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 16 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 Story of a Governess by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7717 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59918 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59918, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1544 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Story of a Governess section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Story of a Governess 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 Story of a Governess, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
