Chapter 11 of A Tale of Red Pekin is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of A Tale of Red Pekin is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. LI’s WONDERFUL HOUSE. But this state of things could not go on for ever. Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered. Would the man never be able to undo the door?
Chapter 11 of A Tale of Red Pekin is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
Extreme physical or mental suffering; intense anguish.
From this reading “Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.”
United States neoclassical sculptor (1814-1857)
From this reading “Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.”
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading “Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.”
a lack of patience; irritation with anything that causes delay
From this reading “Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.”
possessive form of “li” — a soft silver-white univalent element of the alkali metal group; the lightest metal known; occurs in several minerals
cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect
From this reading “Would the man never be able to undo the door?”
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “LI’s WONDERFUL HOUSE.”
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 “Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.”
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “But this state of things could not go on for ever.”
In this reading “But this state of things could not go on for ever.”
In this reading “Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.”
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.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading Would the man never be able to undo the door?
Extreme physical or mental suffering; intense anguish.
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
United States neoclassical sculptor (1814-1857)
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Would the man never be able to undo the door?
at any time
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading LI’s WONDERFUL HOUSE.
a lack of patience; irritation with anything that causes delay
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
possessive form of “li” — a soft silver-white univalent element of the alkali metal group; the lightest metal known; occurs in several minerals
From this reading LI’s WONDERFUL HOUSE.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Would the man never be able to undo the door?
a particular point in time
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Would the man never be able to undo the door?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But this state of things could not go on for ever.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect
From this reading Would the man never be able to undo the door?
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading LI’s WONDERFUL HOUSE.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Mr. Crawford waited in an agony of impatience; for every moment he expected one of the party to turn round, and then he knew he would be discovered.
Chapter 11 of A Tale of Red Pekin by Constancia Serjeant holds 132 sentences, grouped into 27 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 11 holds 132 sentences of A Tale of Red Pekin, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of A Tale of Red Pekin by Constancia Serjeant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 132 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 11 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 Tale of Red Pekin by Constancia Serjeant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1118 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41951 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41951, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 93 minutes of reading across 224 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Tale of Red Pekin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of A Tale of Red Pekin 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 Tale of Red Pekin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
