Chapter 23 of The wiser folly is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The wiser folly is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning. It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel. A letter was lying in his place. He took it up, and opened it. Here are its contents.
Chapter 23 of The wiser folly is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn
From this reading “It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.”
a place of worship that has its own altar
From this reading “It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.”
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading “Here are its contents.”
a ceremonial dinner party for many people
From this reading “It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.”
possessive form of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
near that time or date
From this reading “AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.”
not expected or anticipated
From this reading “AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.”
the fourth day of the week; the third working day
From this reading “AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.”
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 “AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.”
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 A letter was lying in his place.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He took it up, and opened it.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Here are its contents.
a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
a place of worship that has its own altar
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading Here are its contents.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
a ceremonial dinner party for many people
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here are its contents.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A letter was lying in his place.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A letter was lying in his place.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Here are its contents.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
possessive form of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading A letter was lying in his place.
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
according to the clock
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading He took it up, and opened it.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading A letter was lying in his place.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
near that time or date
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading He took it up, and opened it.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He took it up, and opened it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; he had been to Mass at Delancey Chapel.
the fourth day of the week; the third working day
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED LETTER JOHN sat down to breakfast at about nine o’clock, or thereabouts, the following Wednesday morning.
Chapter 23 of The wiser folly by LM (Leslie Moore) holds 69 sentences, grouped into 14 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 23 holds 69 sentences of The wiser folly, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The wiser folly by LM (Leslie Moore) exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 69 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 23 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The wiser folly, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
