Chapter XXIV of The Turner Twins, “A Merry Christmas,” is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXIV
Chapter XXIV of The Turner Twins, “A Merry Christmas,” is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard. George laughed. “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.” “Well, he ought to be back. It’s nearly time for the tree, isn’t it?”
Chapter XXIV of The Turner Twins, “A Merry Christmas,” is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading “George laughed.”
past form of “grumble” — show one's unhappiness or critical attitude
From this reading ““Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading ““Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.”
a rhythmic thrusting movement of the legs as in swimming or calisthenics
From this reading ““Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.”
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading ““Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.”
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading “It’s nearly time for the tree, isn’t it?””
possessive form of “widow” — a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading ““Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.”
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 ““Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.”
In this reading ““Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.”
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.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “Well, he ought to be back.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Well, he ought to be back.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.”
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.”
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.”
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It’s nearly time for the tree, isn’t it?”
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading George laughed.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
past form of “grumble” — show one's unhappiness or critical attitude
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Well, he ought to be back.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s nearly time for the tree, isn’t it?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It’s nearly time for the tree, isn’t it?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s nearly time for the tree, isn’t it?”
a rhythmic thrusting movement of the legs as in swimming or calisthenics
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading George laughed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It’s nearly time for the tree, isn’t it?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading “Well, he ought to be back.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It’s nearly time for the tree, isn’t it?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Well, he ought to be back.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading It’s nearly time for the tree, isn’t it?”
(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, he ought to be back.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.”
possessive form of “widow” — a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.”
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading “Guess Laurie got lost,” grumbled Ned, kicking one foot against the step and looking across the yard.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Guess you could find him if you went as far as the Widow’s, Nid.”
Chapter 24 of The Turner Twins by Ralph Henry Barbour holds 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 173 sentences of The Turner Twins, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of The Turner Twins by Ralph Henry Barbour exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 Turner Twins by Ralph Henry Barbour on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4793 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37209 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37209, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 399 minutes of reading across 959 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Turner Twins section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Turner Twins 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 Turner Twins, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
