Chapter 16 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’ ‘Captain! can there be secrets between us?’ De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell. ‘There should not be--on this point,’ he murmured. ‘Then tell me--why do you so much object to her?’
Chapter 16 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure
From this reading “De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.”
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading “De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.”
an opinion formed by judging something
From this reading “De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.”
a boy or man
From this reading “De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.”
make reference to
From this reading “‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’”
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading “‘There should not be--on this point,’ he murmured.”
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading “De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.”
plural of “secret” — something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
From this reading “‘Captain! can there be secrets between us?’”
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 ‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading ‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading ‘Captain! can there be secrets between us?’
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading ‘Captain! can there be secrets between us?’
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading ‘Captain! can there be secrets between us?’
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading ‘Captain! can there be secrets between us?’
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading ‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’
confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading ‘Then tell me--why do you so much object to her?’
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘There should not be--on this point,’ he murmured.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading ‘Then tell me--why do you so much object to her?’
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
an opinion formed by judging something
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
and nothing more
From this reading ‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’
a boy or man
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ‘Then tell me--why do you so much object to her?’
make reference to
From this reading ‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’
to a great degree or extent
From this reading ‘Then tell me--why do you so much object to her?’
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading ‘There should not be--on this point,’ he murmured.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading ‘There should not be--on this point,’ he murmured.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading ‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading ‘Then tell me--why do you so much object to her?’
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ‘There should not be--on this point,’ he murmured.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading ‘There should not be--on this point,’ he murmured.
plural of “secret” — something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
From this reading ‘Captain! can there be secrets between us?’
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading ‘There should not be--on this point,’ he murmured.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading ‘Then tell me--why do you so much object to her?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
express in words
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading ‘Then tell me--why do you so much object to her?’
in or at that place or location
From this reading ‘Captain! can there be secrets between us?’
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading ‘There should not be--on this point,’ he murmured.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ‘Captain! can there be secrets between us?’
used to ask for information about something
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading ‘Then tell me--why do you so much object to her?’
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading De Stancy paused and looked at the lad as if his heart wished to confess what his judgment feared to tell.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘They are all I care to mention just now to you.’
Chapter 16 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day by Thomas Hardy holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 16 holds 186 sentences of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 16 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.
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Yes. All 7249 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3258 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3258, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1450 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Laodicean : A Story of To-day section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day 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 Laodicean : A Story of To-day, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
