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Before Adam
Before Adam

Chapter XIV · Chapter 14

Chapter 14 of Before Adam is here in full — 105 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Chapter 14 of Before Adam by Jack London holds 105 sentences, grouped into 21 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.

What does chapter 14 of Before Adam contain?

Chapter 14 holds 105 sentences of Before Adam, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 14 of Before Adam by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 105 sentences, grouped into 21 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.

How do I study chapter 14 of Before Adam?

Work through the 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 21 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.

Can chapter 14 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 14 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.

Questions about reading Before Adam

Common questions about reading Before Adam by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Before Adam?

Yes. All 2495 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #310 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Before Adam is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #310, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Before Adam take to read?

About 207 minutes of reading across 499 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Before Adam section by section

How to work through Before Adam section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 18 chapters of Before Adam to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Before Adam

Words and structures a reader meets early in Before Adam, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Pictures
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Before Adam; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Often
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Before Adam; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Learned
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Before Adam; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Wonder
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Before Adam; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Cover illustration for Before Adam
Context Illustration Reading 1/21 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The months came and went.
The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.
It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.
We used to fill gourds with nuts and carry them to the pounding-places.
We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Before Adam

Chapter XIV · Chapter 14

Chapter 14 of Before Adam is here in full — 105 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/21 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The months came and went.
Line 2
The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.
Line 3
It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.
Line 4
We used to fill gourds with nuts and carry them to the pounding-places.
Line 5
We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Remember verb US /rɪˈmɛm.bər/

To recall to mind.

From this reading “It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.”

All words in this reading · 45

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The months came and went.

as

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.

ate

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.

came

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The months came and went.

carry

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We used to fill gourds with nuts and carry them to the pounding-places.

come

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

cracked

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.

depressions

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.

drama

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

fill

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We used to fill gourds with nuts and carry them to the pounding-places.

for

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.

future

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

good

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.

gourds

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We used to fill gourds with nuts and carry them to the pounding-places.

hands

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.

in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

It

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.

lived

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

meantime

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

months

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The months came and went.

nuts

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

our

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.

piece

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.

placed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.

pounded

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

pounding-places

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We used to fill gourds with nuts and carry them to the pounding-places.

rememberverbUS /rɪˈmɛm.bər/

To recall to mind.

From this reading It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.

rock

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We placed them in depressions in the rock, and, with a piece of rock in our hands, we cracked them and ate them as we cracked.

stage

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

The

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The months came and went.

them

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We used to fill gourds with nuts and carry them to the pounding-places.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

tragedy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

upon

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

used

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We used to fill gourds with nuts and carry them to the pounding-places.

was

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.

we

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

went

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The months came and went.

were

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.

with

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We used to fill gourds with nuts and carry them to the pounding-places.

year

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It was a good year, I remember, for nuts.

yet

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The drama and tragedy of the future were yet to come upon the stage, and in the meantime we pounded nuts and lived.