Chapter 17 of A Black Adonis is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of A Black Adonis is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I'VE HAD SUCH LUCK!" One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement. He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner. He caught his daughter in his arms and kissed her like a lover. Tears came to his eyes, but they were tears of joy.
Chapter 17 of A Black Adonis is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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 “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading “He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.”
any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
From this reading “He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.”
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading “One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.”
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 “He caught his daughter in his arms and kissed her like a lover.”
a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading “He caught his daughter in his arms and kissed her like a lover.”
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading “"I'VE HAD SUCH LUCK!"”
as might be expected
From this reading “He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.”
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading “He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.”
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.
a prolonged period of time
In this reading “He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.”
In this reading “One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.”
become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
In this reading “One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.”
In this reading “He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.”
In this reading “One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.”
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 One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading He caught his daughter in his arms and kissed her like a lover.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Tears came to his eyes, but they were tears of joy.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading He caught his daughter in his arms and kissed her like a lover.
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
a female human offspring
From this reading He caught his daughter in his arms and kissed her like a lover.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Tears came to his eyes, but they were tears of joy.
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "I'VE HAD SUCH LUCK!"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He caught his daughter in his arms and kissed her like a lover.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'VE HAD SUCH LUCK!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading Tears came to his eyes, but they were tears of joy.
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 He caught his daughter in his arms and kissed her like a lover.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He caught his daughter in his arms and kissed her like a lover.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading He caught his daughter in his arms and kissed her like a lover.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading "I'VE HAD SUCH LUCK!"
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
a form of address for a man
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
as might be expected
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading One day Mr. Fern came home in a state of great excitement.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "I'VE HAD SUCH LUCK!"
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading Tears came to his eyes, but they were tears of joy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Tears came to his eyes, but they were tears of joy.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Tears came to his eyes, but they were tears of joy.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Tears came to his eyes, but they were tears of joy.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
which person or people
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading He had not acted naturally for a long time and Daisy, who met him at the door, wondered what could be the cause of his strange manner.
Chapter 17 of A Black Adonis by Linn Boyd Porter holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 148 sentences of A Black Adonis, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of A Black Adonis by Linn Boyd Porter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 A Black Adonis by Linn Boyd Porter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5408 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26599 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26599, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 450 minutes of reading across 1082 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Black Adonis section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of A Black Adonis 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 A Black Adonis, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
