Chapter 33 of What Necessity Knows is here in full — 49 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIII
Chapter 33 of What Necessity Knows is here in full — 49 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom. An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard. The pane was open and the blind flapped. The room had little ornament and was unattractive. "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
Chapter 33 of What Necessity Knows is here in full — 49 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading “After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.”
soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state
From this reading “An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.”
inflected form of “flap” — move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
From this reading “The pane was open and the blind flapped.”
make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
From this reading “The room had little ornament and was unattractive.”
sheet glass cut in shapes for windows or doors
From this reading “The pane was open and the blind flapped.”
plural of “passer” — a person who passes by casually or by chance
From this reading “An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.”
a protective covering or structure
From this reading “An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.”
lacking beauty or charm
From this reading “The room had little ornament and was unattractive.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
inflected form of “flap” — move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
From this reading The pane was open and the blind flapped.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The room had little ornament and was unattractive.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
the literary culture
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The pane was open and the blind flapped.
make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
From this reading The room had little ornament and was unattractive.
sheet glass cut in shapes for windows or doors
From this reading The pane was open and the blind flapped.
plural of “passer” — a person who passes by casually or by chance
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
a person who requires medical care
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The room had little ornament and was unattractive.
a protective covering or structure
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading After tea Sophia took Blue and Red apart into their little bedroom.
hard to endure
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
lacking beauty or charm
From this reading The room had little ornament and was unattractive.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
produce a literary work
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading An old cotton blind was pulled down to shield the low window from passers in the yard.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "How could you write letters to that Mr. Harkness?" asked Sophia, trying to be patient.
Chapter 33 of What Necessity Knows by L. (Lily) Dougall holds 49 sentences, grouped into 10 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 33 holds 49 sentences of What Necessity Knows, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 33 of What Necessity Knows by L. (Lily) Dougall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 49 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 33 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 What Necessity Knows by L. (Lily) Dougall on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7271 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16398 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16398, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1455 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through What Necessity Knows section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of What Necessity Knows 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 What Necessity Knows, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
