Chapter 6 of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs. Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn. The old man looked at her inquiringly. “They hain’t begun?” She shook her head.
Chapter 6 of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading ““They hain’t begun?””
aimless wandering from place to place
From this reading “Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.”
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading “They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.”
past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.”
past form of “mingle” — to bring or combine together or with something else
From this reading “Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.”
plural of “strain” — (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading “Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.”
the section of an orchestra that plays stringed instruments
From this reading “Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.”
withdrawn from society; seeking solitude
From this reading “Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.”
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 had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “They hain’t begun?”
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
aimless wandering from place to place
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.
past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “They hain’t begun?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She shook her head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The old man looked at her inquiringly.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
in an inquiring manner
From this reading The old man looked at her inquiringly.
set down according to a plan
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The old man looked at her inquiringly.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The old man looked at her inquiringly.
past form of “mingle” — to bring or combine together or with something else
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old man looked at her inquiringly.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.
with speed
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She shook her head.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading She shook her head.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.
plural of “strain” — (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
the section of an orchestra that plays stringed instruments
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had paused at the foot of a flight of stairs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
plural of “voice” — the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
withdrawn from society; seeking solitude
From this reading Down the narrow hall-way floated a mingled sound of voices, high and low, with drifting strains of violin-bows laid across strings and quickly withdrawn.
Chapter 6 of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less by Jennette Lee holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 6 holds 432 sentences of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less by Jennette Lee exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 6 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 Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less by Jennette Lee on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3413 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4634 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4634, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 284 minutes of reading across 683 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less 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 Uncle William: The Man Who Was Shif'less, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
