Chapter 17 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next. D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years? Sheila Pat, _don’t_ go near K.K.! You’ll rouse her! Oh, _why_ is she black?
Chapter 17 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 392 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.
to come to rest, settle
From this reading “"My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.”
a particular environment or surrounding influence
From this reading “"My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.”
stunned or confused and slow to react (as from blows or drunkenness or exhaustion)
From this reading “"My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.”
the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading “"My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.”
make a painting
From this reading “"My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.”
pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading “Sheila Pat, _don’t_ go near K.K.!”
engage in a rehearsal
From this reading “D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?”
become active
From this reading “You’ll rouse her!”
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 “D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?”
In this reading “"My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.”
live in the house where one works
In this reading “"My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.”
In this reading “Sheila Pat, _don’t_ go near K.K.!”
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 "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
to come to rest, settle
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
a particular environment or surrounding influence
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Oh, _why_ is she black?
a young person of either sex
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?
dearly loved
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sheila Pat, _don’t_ go near K.K.!
stunned or confused and slow to react (as from blows or drunkenness or exhaustion)
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?
the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Sheila Pat, _don’t_ go near K.K.!
the act of departing
From this reading D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading You’ll rouse her!
ten 10s
From this reading D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Oh, _why_ is she black?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
the basic unit of thermodynamic temperature adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Sheila Pat, _don’t_ go near K.K.!
gain knowledge or skills
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading Sheila Pat, _don’t_ go near K.K.!
immediately following in time or order
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, _why_ is she black?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
make a painting
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading Sheila Pat, _don’t_ go near K.K.!
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
engage in a rehearsal
From this reading D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?
become active
From this reading You’ll rouse her!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Oh, _why_ is she black?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sheila Pat, _don’t_ go near K.K.!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
in or at the place that
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Oh, _why_ is she black?
in the company of; together with
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
a late time of life
From this reading D’you think I’m not going to practise for the next hundred years?
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading "My dear child, if we’re to live in a place where it’s always foggy, I’ve got to learn to paint in a thick yellow atmosphere, with the gas alight one minute and out the next.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You’ll rouse her!
Chapter 17 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup holds 392 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 17 holds 392 sentences of The Young O'Briens, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 392 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 17 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.
