Chapter 17 of Under Sentence of Death is here in full — 66 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Under Sentence of Death is here in full — 66 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child. She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well. I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair. Why is her mother not with her? She is ill, and her grandmother is ill too.
Chapter 17 of Under Sentence of Death is here in full — 66 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading “She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.”
put on clothes
From this reading “She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.”
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “She is ill, and her grandmother is ill too.”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “She is ill, and her grandmother is ill too.”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.”
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading “I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.”
reflecting optimism
From this reading “SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.”
plural of “wear” — impairment resulting from long use
From this reading “She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.”
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 “SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.”
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 is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.
a young person of either sex
From this reading SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
dearly loved
From this reading She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.
put on clothes
From this reading She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.
opinion or judgment
From this reading SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading She is ill, and her grandmother is ill too.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading She is ill, and her grandmother is ill too.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Why is her mother not with her?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Why is her mother not with her?
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
reflecting optimism
From this reading SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading She is ill, and her grandmother is ill too.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading I have taken her up in my arms, and placed her upon my knees, and kissed her hair.
plural of “wear” — impairment resulting from long use
From this reading She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading She wears a dear little dress that becomes her well.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why is her mother not with her?
in the company of; together with
From this reading Why is her mother not with her?
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading SHE is young and rosy, and has large eyes; she is a pretty child.
Chapter 17 of Under Sentence of Death by Victor Hugo holds 66 sentences, grouped into 14 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 66 sentences of Under Sentence of Death, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Under Sentence of Death by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 66 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 Under Sentence of Death by Victor Hugo on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4014 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50010 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50010, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 334 minutes of reading across 803 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Under Sentence of Death section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Under Sentence of Death 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 Under Sentence of Death, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
