Chapter 14 of Benighted is here in full — 277 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Benighted is here in full — 277 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Margaret was trying the handle of the door. ‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys. ‘I know he has.’ Gladys had sunk to her knees. She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
Chapter 14 of Benighted is here in full — 277 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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.
a holder with sockets for candles
From this reading “She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.”
pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
From this reading “She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.”
A hot glowing body of ignited gas produced by fire.
From this reading “She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.”
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading “Margaret was trying the handle of the door.”
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading “She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.”
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading “‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys.”
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading “‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys.”
doomed to extinction
From this reading “Gladys had sunk to her knees.”
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 “She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.”
In this reading “Margaret was trying the handle of the door.”
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 She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading ‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys.
next to; at the side of
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
a holder with sockets for candles
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading ‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Margaret was trying the handle of the door.
pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
A hot glowing body of ignited gas produced by fire.
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Gladys had sunk to her knees.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading Margaret was trying the handle of the door.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘I know he has.’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘I know he has.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Gladys had sunk to her knees.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I know he has.’
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading ‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading Gladys had sunk to her knees.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading ‘I know he has.’
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading ‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Margaret was trying the handle of the door.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Margaret was trying the handle of the door.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading ‘He’s locked it,’ she cried, staring at Gladys.
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
doomed to extinction
From this reading Gladys had sunk to her knees.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Margaret was trying the handle of the door.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Gladys had sunk to her knees.
hard to endure
From this reading Margaret was trying the handle of the door.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Margaret was trying the handle of the door.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She put the candlestick, with its feeble, spluttering flame on the floor beside her, and stretched out a hand to the door, leaning against it.
Chapter 14 of Benighted by J. B. (John Boynton) Priestley holds 277 sentences, grouped into 56 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 14 holds 277 sentences of Benighted, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Benighted by J. B. (John Boynton) Priestley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 277 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 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.
Common questions about reading Benighted by J. B. (John Boynton) Priestley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4901 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73673 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73673, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 408 minutes of reading across 981 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Benighted section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Benighted 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 Benighted, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
