Chapter 6 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She sat down. "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?" She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly. He smiled widely. "They call me a goot business head, Fräulein."
Chapter 6 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
-ing form of “clutch” — take hold of; grab
From this reading “She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.”
a German man; used before the name as a title equivalent to Mr in English
From this reading “"You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"”
a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
From this reading “She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.”
metal or earthenware cooking vessel that is usually round and deep; often has a handle and lid
From this reading “She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.”
German statesman who served as chancellor of Germany (born in 1918)
From this reading “"You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"”
past form of “seize” — take hold of; grab
From this reading “She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “He smiled widely.”
to a great degree
From this reading “He smiled widely.”
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.
able to be negotiated or arranged by compromise
In this reading “She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.”
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 "They call me a goot business head, Fräulein."
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
(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 "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "They call me a goot business head, Fräulein."
-ing form of “clutch” — take hold of; grab
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She sat down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "They call me a goot business head, Fräulein."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "They call me a goot business head, Fräulein."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He smiled widely.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading "They call me a goot business head, Fräulein."
a German man; used before the name as a title equivalent to Mr in English
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "They call me a goot business head, Fräulein."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
metal or earthenware cooking vessel that is usually round and deep; often has a handle and lid
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading She sat down.
German statesman who served as chancellor of Germany (born in 1918)
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
past form of “seize” — take hold of; grab
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She sat down.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading He smiled widely.
express a supposition
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They call me a goot business head, Fräulein."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She had seized an ink pot that was on the table, and seemed to be clutching it meaninglessly.
to a great degree
From this reading He smiled widely.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You—I suppose you know all about business and money, don’t you, Herr Schmidt?"
Chapter 6 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 6 holds 410 sentences of The Young O'Briens, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 6 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 Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8807 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45324 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45324, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1762 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Young O'Briens section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Young O'Briens 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 Young O'Briens, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
