Chapter 11 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I never forget a promise." "No, of course not! That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!" He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box. "But when I saw that fool of a Pennington—" "He’s not a fool.
Chapter 11 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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 (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading “He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.”
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading “He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.”
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading “"But when I saw that fool of a Pennington—" "He’s not a fool.”
be suspended or hanging
From this reading “That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"”
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading “That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"”
possessive form of “noah” — the Hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain; the story of Noah and the flood is told in the Book of Genesis
the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading “He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.”
characteristic of a form of social organization in which the male is the family head and title is traced through the male line
From this reading “He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.”
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.
as might be expected
In this reading “"No, of course not!”
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 "I never forget a promise."
(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 That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But when I saw that fool of a Pennington—" "He’s not a fool.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading "No, of course not!
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading "But when I saw that fool of a Pennington—" "He’s not a fool.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading "I never forget a promise."
be suspended or hanging
From this reading That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But when I saw that fool of a Pennington—" "He’s not a fool.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I never forget a promise."
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "I never forget a promise."
not any; not one
From this reading "No, of course not!
possessive form of “noah” — the Hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain; the story of Noah and the flood is told in the Book of Genesis
From this reading He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "No, of course not!
the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "No, of course not!
characteristic of a form of social organization in which the male is the family head and title is traced through the male line
From this reading He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But when I saw that fool of a Pennington—" "He’s not a fool.
make a promise or commitment
From this reading "I never forget a promise."
cut with a saw
From this reading "But when I saw that fool of a Pennington—" "He’s not a fool.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He flung Noah’s patriarchal oak into the box.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That is—I mean—I thought—hang it all, I was an idiot!"
at the time that
From this reading "But when I saw that fool of a Pennington—" "He’s not a fool.
Chapter 11 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup holds 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 11 holds 397 sentences of The Young O'Briens, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 11 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.
