Chapter 14 of A Diversity of Creatures 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 XIV
Chapter 14 of A Diversity of Creatures is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread. Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit. 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?' 'I've never seen the Pyramids,' I replied. 'Hm!
Chapter 14 of A Diversity of Creatures 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.
plural of “arab” — a member of a Semitic people originally from the Arabian peninsula and surrounding territories who speaks Arabic and who inhabits much of the Middle East and northern Africa
From this reading “'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'”
take exception to
From this reading “The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.”
plural of “flame” — the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke
From this reading “Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit.”
people in general (often used in the plural)
From this reading “'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'”
provided with artificial light
From this reading “Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit.”
plural of “pyramid” — a polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex
From this reading “'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'”
put in the mind of someone
From this reading “'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'”
past form of “twinkle” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit.”
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 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
plural of “arab” — a member of a Semitic people originally from the Arabian peninsula and surrounding territories who speaks Arabic and who inhabits much of the Middle East and northern Africa
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
take exception to
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
opinion or judgment
From this reading Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit.
plural of “flame” — the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke
From this reading Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit.
people in general (often used in the plural)
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
a metric unit of length equal to 100 meters
From this reading 'Hm!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'I've never seen the Pyramids,' I replied.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'I've never seen the Pyramids,' I replied.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
provided with artificial light
From this reading Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading 'I've never seen the Pyramids,' I replied.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
above and across; more than
From this reading Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
plural of “pyramid” — a polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
put in the mind of someone
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading 'I've never seen the Pyramids,' I replied.
precisely, exactly
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading 'I've never seen the Pyramids,' I replied.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit.
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
past form of “twinkle” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading Her eyes twinkled over the flames she had lit.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading The man at her right took up the challenge, and the war spread.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'Don't these folk,' she said a little later, 'remind you of Arabs picnicking under the Pyramids?'
Chapter 14 of A Diversity of Creatures by Rudyard Kipling 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 14 holds 408 sentences of A Diversity of Creatures, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of A Diversity of Creatures by Rudyard Kipling 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 14 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 Diversity of Creatures by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8131 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13085 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13085, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1627 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Diversity of Creatures section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of A Diversity of Creatures 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 Diversity of Creatures, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
