Chapter 28 of A Perfect Fool: A Novel is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of A Perfect Fool: A Novel is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NIGHT ALARMS. “Chris, what does this mean?” Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot. They had not exchanged a single word on the way. It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
Chapter 28 of A Perfect Fool: A Novel is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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 “alarm” — fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “NIGHT ALARMS.”
lacking funds
From this reading “It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.”
a female human offspring
From this reading “Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.”
changed for (replaced by) something different
From this reading “They had not exchanged a single word on the way.”
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading “Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.”
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading “It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.”
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading “It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.”
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading “They had not exchanged a single word on the way.”
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 “They had not exchanged a single word on the way.”
In this reading “Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.”
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 They had not exchanged a single word on the way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
plural of “alarm” — fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading NIGHT ALARMS.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
lacking funds
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Chris, what does this mean?”
a female human offspring
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Chris, what does this mean?”
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
changed for (replaced by) something different
From this reading They had not exchanged a single word on the way.
start firing a weapon
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “Chris, what does this mean?”
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading NIGHT ALARMS.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading They had not exchanged a single word on the way.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
in a portentous manner
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading They had not exchanged a single word on the way.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They had not exchanged a single word on the way.
in or at that place or location
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had not exchanged a single word on the way.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “Chris, what does this mean?”
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
up to a particular time
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was not until they had reached the Chinese-room, and had sat down before the fire there, that Mrs. Abercarne thus broke the silence portentously.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading They had not exchanged a single word on the way.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Chris, what does this mean?”
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading They had not exchanged a single word on the way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wyngham House being so near, Mrs. Abercarne and her daughter had returned on foot.
Chapter 28 of A Perfect Fool: A Novel by Florence Warden holds 90 sentences, grouped into 18 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 28 holds 90 sentences of A Perfect Fool: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of A Perfect Fool: A Novel by Florence Warden exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 90 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 28 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 4238 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65401 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65401, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 353 minutes of reading across 848 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Perfect Fool: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of A Perfect Fool: A Novel 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 Perfect Fool: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
