Chapter 14 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 388 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 388 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Five hours to tea-time!" he sighed. Down the stairs floated a wail of woe. "I’ve upset the ink!" "That’s Molly. Do go and help her, Ted!"
Chapter 14 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 388 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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.
past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.”
a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
From this reading “"I’ve upset the ink!"”
popular aquarium fish
From this reading “"That’s Molly.”
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “"Five hours to tea-time!" he sighed.”
a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing Edwardian style clothes
From this reading “Do go and help her, Ted!"”
disturb the balance or stability of
From this reading “"I’ve upset the ink!"”
emit long loud cries
From this reading “Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.”
misery resulting from affliction
From this reading “Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.”
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 “"Five hours to tea-time!" he sighed.”
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 Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Do go and help her, Ted!"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do go and help her, Ted!"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading "Five hours to tea-time!" he sighed.
past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Do go and help her, Ted!"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Five hours to tea-time!" he sighed.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Do go and help her, Ted!"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Do go and help her, Ted!"
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading "Five hours to tea-time!" he sighed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I’ve upset the ink!"
a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
From this reading "I’ve upset the ink!"
popular aquarium fish
From this reading "That’s Molly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading "Five hours to tea-time!" he sighed.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Five hours to tea-time!" he sighed.
a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing Edwardian style clothes
From this reading Do go and help her, Ted!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That’s Molly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Five hours to tea-time!" he sighed.
disturb the balance or stability of
From this reading "I’ve upset the ink!"
emit long loud cries
From this reading Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.
misery resulting from affliction
From this reading Down the stairs floated a wail of woe.
Chapter 14 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup holds 388 sentences, grouped into 78 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 14 holds 388 sentences of The Young O'Briens, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 388 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 14 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.
