Chapter 19 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He had touched the right note. Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room. Not pale was she now. Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone. She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
Chapter 19 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
(physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element
From this reading “Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.”
the act of eating dinner
From this reading “Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.”
on a floor below
From this reading “Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.”
past form of “glow” — emit a steady even light without flames
From this reading “Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.”
past form of “march” — march in a procession
From this reading “Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.”
inflected form of “shine” — be bright by reflecting or casting light
From this reading “Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.”
spots before the eyes caused by opaque cell fragments in the vitreous humor and lens
From this reading “Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.”
evoking lifelike images within the mind
From this reading “Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.”
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.
a room used for dining
In this reading “Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.”
In this reading “Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!”
put clothing on one's body
In this reading “She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!”
In this reading “She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!”
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 She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
(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 She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
Having no one else present.
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.
(physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element
From this reading Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
having or capable of producing colors
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
the act of eating dinner
From this reading Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
on a floor below
From this reading Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
past form of “glow” — emit a steady even light without flames
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had touched the right note.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had touched the right note.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.
past form of “march” — march in a procession
From this reading Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.
used to form the superlative
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not pale was she now.
a brief written record
From this reading He had touched the right note.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Not pale was she now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading Not pale was she now.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
precisely, exactly
From this reading He had touched the right note.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Downstairs marched the Atom and into the dining room.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Not pale was she now.
inflected form of “shine” — be bright by reflecting or casting light
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
spots before the eyes caused by opaque cell fragments in the vitreous humor and lens
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He had touched the right note.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
having come into contact
From this reading He had touched the right note.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
evoking lifelike images within the mind
From this reading Two vivid spots of colour glowed in her cheeks; her eyes shone.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Not pale was she now.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading She sat her down on a chair and began:— "I wished to go out all by my alone, so I put on my things and I creeped down the stairs and out of the door—" "Most wrong!
Chapter 19 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 19 holds 415 sentences of The Young O'Briens, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 19 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.
