Chapter 21 of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show. We asked her what all the holiday-making was about. “The result of the election has just been announced,” said she. “The name of the new chief was given out at noon.” “And who is the new chief?” asked the Doctor.
Chapter 21 of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading ““The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.”
a person who is in charge
From this reading ““The name of the new chief was given out at noon.””
a vote to select the winner of a position or political office
From this reading ““The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.”
the middle of the day
From this reading ““The name of the new chief was given out at noon.””
the islands in the eastern part of Oceania
From this reading “We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.”
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading ““The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.”
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading “We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.”
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading “We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading We asked her what all the holiday-making was about.
(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 asked her what all the holiday-making was about.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And who is the new chief?” asked the Doctor.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading We asked her what all the holiday-making was about.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “The name of the new chief was given out at noon.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.
a person who is in charge
From this reading “The name of the new chief was given out at noon.”
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “And who is the new chief?” asked the Doctor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
a vote to select the winner of a position or political office
From this reading “The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.
set up or found
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading “The name of the new chief was given out at noon.”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading We asked her what all the holiday-making was about.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We asked her what all the holiday-making was about.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “And who is the new chief?” asked the Doctor.
and nothing more
From this reading “The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “The name of the new chief was given out at noon.”
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading “The name of the new chief was given out at noon.”
the middle of the day
From this reading “The name of the new chief was given out at noon.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “The name of the new chief was given out at noon.”
the islands in the eastern part of Oceania
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading “The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “The result of the election has just been announced,” said she.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading We asked her what all the holiday-making was about.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading We asked her what all the holiday-making was about.
during the time that
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
which person or people
From this reading We found Polynesia—who while we slept had arrived back from Bag-jagderag—sitting on our door-post watching the show.
Chapter 21 of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting holds 196 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 21 holds 196 sentences of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 21 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 Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4755 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1154 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1154, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 396 minutes of reading across 951 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle 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 Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
