Chapter 7 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within. What was to be done? Force open the door? Perhaps some of the villains were still in the house. At any rate, it was proper to see what state things were in.
Chapter 7 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
-ing form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.”
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading “On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.”
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading “Force open the door?”
marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness
From this reading “At any rate, it was proper to see what state things were in.”
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading “On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.”
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading “At any rate, it was proper to see what state things were in.”
possessive form of “thomson” — United States composer who collaborated with Gertrude Stein (1896-1989)
From this reading “On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.”
plural of “villain” — a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “Perhaps some of the villains were still in the house.”
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 “At any rate, it was proper to see what state things were in.”
In this reading “Force open the door?”
reach a destination, either real or abstract
In this reading “On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.”
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.
(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 On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading At any rate, it was proper to see what state things were in.
-ing form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading What was to be done?
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading What was to be done?
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading Force open the door?
set up or found
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Perhaps some of the villains were still in the house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Perhaps some of the villains were still in the house.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
a form of address for a man
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Perhaps some of the villains were still in the house.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Force open the door?
by chance
From this reading Perhaps some of the villains were still in the house.
marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness
From this reading At any rate, it was proper to see what state things were in.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading At any rate, it was proper to see what state things were in.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading At any rate, it was proper to see what state things were in.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Perhaps some of the villains were still in the house.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading At any rate, it was proper to see what state things were in.
not in physical motion
From this reading Perhaps some of the villains were still in the house.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Force open the door?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading At any rate, it was proper to see what state things were in.
possessive form of “thomson” — United States composer who collaborated with Gertrude Stein (1896-1989)
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What was to be done?
plural of “villain” — a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading Perhaps some of the villains were still in the house.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What was to be done?
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Perhaps some of the villains were still in the house.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What was to be done?
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading On arriving at Mr. Thomson's door, they found it fast, and all quiet within.
Chapter 7 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 by John Mackay [Compiler] Wilson holds 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 7 holds 423 sentences of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 by John Mackay [Compiler] Wilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 7 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 Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 by John Mackay [Compiler] Wilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3060 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37336 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37336, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 255 minutes of reading across 612 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21 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 Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 21, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
