Chapter 9 of And Even Now is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of And Even Now is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses? It was because he scented danger. He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave? Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no! You despise him for his fears?
Chapter 9 of And Even Now is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
utter meaningless sounds, like a baby, or utter in an incoherent way
From this reading “Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?”
the habitation of wild animals
From this reading “Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!”
look down on with disdain
From this reading “You despise him for his fears?”
highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire
From this reading “He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?”
plural of “excuse” — a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
From this reading “Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?”
the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
From this reading “He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?”
having the sense of smell
From this reading “It was because he scented danger.”
openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
From this reading “He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?”
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 Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
later than; following
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
(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 Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
utter meaningless sounds, like a baby, or utter in an incoherent way
From this reading Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?
for the reason that
From this reading It was because he scented danger.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading It was because he scented danger.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
the habitation of wild animals
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
look down on with disdain
From this reading You despise him for his fears?
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?
highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
apart from; not including
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
plural of “excuse” — a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
From this reading Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?
plural of “fear” — an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading You despise him for his fears?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was because he scented danger.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading You despise him for his fears?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was because he scented danger.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?
at the same time but in another place
From this reading Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?
the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
not any; not one
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
capable of happening or existing
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?
having the sense of smell
From this reading It was because he scented danger.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
precisely as stated
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was because he scented danger.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Acquaintance in the open valley was all very well and pleasant, but a strange den after dark--no, no!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He was not by nature suspicious, but--what possible motive, except murder, could this man have for enticing him to that cave?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Meanwhile, why did the red-haired man babble those excuses?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You despise him for his fears?
Chapter 9 of And Even Now by Max, Sir Beerbohm holds 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 9 holds 156 sentences of And Even Now, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of And Even Now by Max, Sir Beerbohm exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 9 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 And Even Now by Max, Sir Beerbohm on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3480 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1956 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1956, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 290 minutes of reading across 696 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through And Even Now section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of And Even Now 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 And Even Now, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
