Chapter 11 of When the Birds Begin to Sing is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of When the Birds Begin to Sing is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IF WE ONLY KNOW! IF WE ONLY KNOW! Eleanor's face is seared with weeping. For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her. She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
Chapter 11 of When the Birds Begin to Sing is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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 “avoid” — stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
From this reading “She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.”
-ing form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading “She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.”
having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling
From this reading “She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.”
within a building
From this reading “She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.”
having the surface burned quickly with intense heat
From this reading “Eleanor's face is seared with weeping.”
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.”
showing sorrow
From this reading “Eleanor's face is seared with weeping.”
a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading “She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.”
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 has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.”
In this reading “For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.”
In this reading “For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.”
In this reading “For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.”
In this reading “She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.”
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 has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
past form of “avoid” — stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
-ing form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Eleanor's face is seared with weeping.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Eleanor's face is seared with weeping.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
only a very short time before
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading IF WE ONLY KNOW!
within a building
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Eleanor's face is seared with weeping.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading IF WE ONLY KNOW!
immediately past
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
and nothing more
From this reading IF WE ONLY KNOW!
Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921)
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
having the surface burned quickly with intense heat
From this reading Eleanor's face is seared with weeping.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading For the last three days Philip has hardly spoken to her.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading IF WE ONLY KNOW!
showing sorrow
From this reading Eleanor's face is seared with weeping.
a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading She has stayed indoors and avoided Giddy, but now a message comes from the widow commenting on her non-appearance.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Eleanor's face is seared with weeping.
Chapter 11 of When the Birds Begin to Sing by Winifred (Matilda Winifred Muriel) Graham holds 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 11 holds 217 sentences of When the Birds Begin to Sing, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of When the Birds Begin to Sing by Winifred (Matilda Winifred Muriel) Graham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 11 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 When the Birds Begin to Sing by Winifred (Matilda Winifred Muriel) Graham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4384 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26186 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26186, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 365 minutes of reading across 877 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through When the Birds Begin to Sing section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of When the Birds Begin to Sing 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 When the Birds Begin to Sing, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
