Chapter 24 of Watch Yourself Go By is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of Watch Yourself Go By is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what? Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion. Alfred felt he must do something to turn the tide. The rain kept falling. He started to the city on his mysterious errand.
Chapter 24 of Watch Yourself Go By is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
past form of “berate” — censure severely or angrily
From this reading “Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?”
befitting or characteristic of a young boy
From this reading “Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion.”
-ing form of “destroy” — do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of
From this reading “Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?”
a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission
From this reading “He started to the city on his mysterious errand.”
make happy or satisfied
From this reading “Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion.”
an erroneous mental representation
From this reading “Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion.”
the act of spending or disbursing money
From this reading “Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?”
a sudden desire
From this reading “Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion.”
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 Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion.
king of Wessex; defeated the Vikings and encouraged writing in English (849-899)
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
(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 Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
past form of “berate” — censure severely or angrily
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
befitting or characteristic of a young boy
From this reading Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading He started to the city on his mysterious errand.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
-ing form of “destroy” — do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Alfred felt he must do something to turn the tide.
inflected form of “drag” — pull, as against a resistance
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission
From this reading He started to the city on his mysterious errand.
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading The rain kept falling.
a social unit living together
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Alfred felt he must do something to turn the tide.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
make happy or satisfied
From this reading Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
an erroneous mental representation
From this reading Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion.
and nothing more
From this reading Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading The rain kept falling.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Alfred felt he must do something to turn the tide.
of an obscure nature
From this reading He started to the city on his mysterious errand.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He started to the city on his mysterious errand.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading The rain kept falling.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Alfred felt he must do something to turn the tide.
the act of spending or disbursing money
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading He started to the city on his mysterious errand.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
From this reading Alfred felt he must do something to turn the tide.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading Alfred felt he must do something to turn the tide.
without pity; in a merciless manner
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Alfred was unmercifully berated that he had dragged his family to the country, destroying their happiness and spending all his money for--what, for what?
a sudden desire
From this reading Just to gratify a whim, a boyish illusion.
Chapter 24 of Watch Yourself Go By by Al. G. (Alfred Griffith) Field holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 24 holds 408 sentences of Watch Yourself Go By, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of Watch Yourself Go By by Al. G. (Alfred Griffith) Field exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 24 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 Watch Yourself Go By by Al. G. (Alfred Griffith) Field on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10090 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20375 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20375, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2018 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Watch Yourself Go By section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Watch Yourself Go By 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 Watch Yourself Go By, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
