Chapter 13 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He punched Ted on the back. "Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!" Ted punched back. "Awfully sorry—thought you were the sofa cushion!" "Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.
Chapter 13 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 391 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
used as intensifiers
From this reading “"Awfully sorry—thought you were the sofa cushion!"”
a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
From this reading “"Awfully sorry—thought you were the sofa cushion!"”
the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
From this reading “"Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.”
an upright tripod for displaying something (usually an artist's canvas)
From this reading “"Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!"”
represented as greater than is true or reasonable
From this reading “"Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.”
past form of “punch” — deliver a quick blow to
From this reading “He punched Ted on the back.”
award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
From this reading “"Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.”
a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing Edwardian style clothes
From this reading “He punched Ted on the back.”
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 “"Awfully sorry—thought you were the sofa cushion!"”
In this reading “"Awfully sorry—thought you were the sofa cushion!"”
In this reading “"Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!"”
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 as intensifiers
From this reading "Awfully sorry—thought you were the sofa cushion!"
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He punched Ted on the back.
call upon in supplication; entreat
From this reading "Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!"
a boy or man
From this reading "Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!"
a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
From this reading "Awfully sorry—thought you were the sofa cushion!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.
the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
From this reading "Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.
an upright tripod for displaying something (usually an artist's canvas)
From this reading "Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading "Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He punched Ted on the back.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He punched Ted on the back.
represented as greater than is true or reasonable
From this reading "Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.
accept an excuse for
From this reading "Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!"
past form of “punch” — deliver a quick blow to
From this reading He punched Ted on the back.
award-winning United States film actor (1928-1999)
From this reading "Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading "Awfully sorry—thought you were the sofa cushion!"
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading "Awfully sorry—thought you were the sofa cushion!"
a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing Edwardian style clothes
From this reading He punched Ted on the back.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He punched Ted on the back.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!"
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!"
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Great Scott!" ejaculated Denis, with overdone dismay.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Beg pardon—thought you were the easel, old chap!"
Chapter 13 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup holds 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 13 holds 391 sentences of The Young O'Briens, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 391 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 13 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.
