Chapter 17 of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door. “Is Mrs. Alec Tweedie here?” Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question. Truly a nice situation! To be enquired for at a gaol.
Chapter 17 of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading ““THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “Truly a nice situation!”
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading ““THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.”
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading “Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question.”
plural of “ship” — a vessel that carries passengers or freight
From this reading ““THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.”
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading “Truly a nice situation!”
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question.”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “Truly a nice situation!”
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.
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading ““THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.”
In this reading ““THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.”
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 “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Is Mrs. Alec Tweedie here?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading To be enquired for at a gaol.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To be enquired for at a gaol.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading To be enquired for at a gaol.
a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)
From this reading To be enquired for at a gaol.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Is Mrs. Alec Tweedie here?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is Mrs. Alec Tweedie here?”
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “Is Mrs. Alec Tweedie here?”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading Truly a nice situation!
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
plural of “ship” — a vessel that carries passengers or freight
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading Truly a nice situation!
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS” A knock came at the prison door.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Truly a nice situation!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Is Mrs. Alec Tweedie here?”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, Mrs. Alec Tweedie was having her tea, and heard the question.
Chapter 17 of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life by Mrs. (Ethel) Alec-Tweedie holds 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 146 sentences of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life by Mrs. (Ethel) Alec-Tweedie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life by Mrs. (Ethel) Alec-Tweedie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6278 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55263 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55263, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 523 minutes of reading across 1256 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life 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 Thirteen Years of a Busy Woman's Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
