Chapter 22 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined. On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?" "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!" "We won’t tell Molly or the Atom, will we?" "No. We’ll wait.
Chapter 22 of The Young O'Briens is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 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.
(physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element
From this reading “"We won’t tell Molly or the Atom, will we?"”
a telegram sent abroad
From this reading “On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"”
of a dreadful kind
From this reading “On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"”
spoken with emphasis
From this reading “’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.”
cause fear in
From this reading “On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"”
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “"Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"”
popular aquarium fish
From this reading “"We won’t tell Molly or the Atom, will we?"”
past form of “opine” — express one's opinion openly and without fear or hesitation
From this reading “’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.”
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 “"Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"”
hold firmly
In this reading “’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.”
In this reading “"Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"”
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 On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"
(physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element
From this reading "We won’t tell Molly or the Atom, will we?"
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"
a telegram sent abroad
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
of a dreadful kind
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
spoken with emphasis
From this reading ’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"
cause fear in
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"
with hesitation; in a hesitant manner
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading ’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"
popular aquarium fish
From this reading "We won’t tell Molly or the Atom, will we?"
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading ’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
not any; not one
From this reading "No. We’ll wait.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.
and nothing more
From this reading "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"
past form of “opine” — express one's opinion openly and without fear or hesitation
From this reading ’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "We won’t tell Molly or the Atom, will we?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"
express in words
From this reading "We won’t tell Molly or the Atom, will we?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ’"Hold on to’ is more emphatic," Denis opined.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading "No. We’ll wait.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We won’t tell Molly or the Atom, will we?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No. We’ll wait.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "We won’t tell Molly or the Atom, will we?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We won’t tell Molly or the Atom, will we?"
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading "Only for a second, and it can’t be helped, worse luck!"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading On the way back Nell said hesitatingly:— "Denis, do you think it’ll frighten them dreadfully to get a cablegram from us?"
Chapter 22 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup holds 395 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 22 holds 395 sentences of The Young O'Briens, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of The Young O'Briens by Margaret Westrup exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 395 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 22 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.
