Chapter 28 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘I have seen him.’ De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes. The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind. ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’ ‘What?’
Chapter 28 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 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.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.”
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading “‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’”
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.”
remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract
From this reading “The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.”
the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes)
From this reading “The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.”
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading “De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.”
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.”
an impression that something might be the case
From this reading “The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.”
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.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’
showing who or what does the action
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’
opinion or judgment
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading ‘I have seen him.’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ‘I have seen him.’
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I have seen him.’
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’
the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes)
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading ‘I have seen him.’
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
an impression that something might be the case
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading ‘My soul,’ he said, dropping his arms, ‘can this be true?’
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading ‘What?’
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The scrutiny seemed not altogether to remove the suspicion which had suddenly started up in his mind.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading De Stancy took the young man by the two shoulders and gazed into his eyes.
Chapter 28 of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day by Thomas Hardy holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 28 holds 185 sentences of A Laodicean : A Story of To-day, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 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 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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.
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About 600 minutes of reading across 1450 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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