Chapter 15 of Bloom of Cactus is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Bloom of Cactus is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room. Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object. She bent down to look. A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway. The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.
Chapter 15 of Bloom of Cactus is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
closed to traffic
From this reading “A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.”
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading “CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.”
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.”
English rock star and guitarist and songwriter who with Paul McCartney wrote most of the music for the Beatles (1940-1980)
From this reading “The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.”
equally distant from the extremes
From this reading “Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.”
being on the outside or further from a center
From this reading “A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.”
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading “The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.”
sharp piercing cry
From this reading “The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.”
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 Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading She bent down to look.
closed to traffic
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
confined by bonds
From this reading The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
the first light of day
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She bent down to look.
lighted by or as if by twilight
From this reading Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
English rock star and guitarist and songwriter who with Paul McCartney wrote most of the music for the Beatles (1940-1980)
From this reading The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She bent down to look.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
equally distant from the extremes
From this reading Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
being on the outside or further from a center
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
somewhat round in appearance or form
From this reading Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She bent down to look.
sharp piercing cry
From this reading The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading Midway of the dusky passage her foot struck against a roundish object.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The girl's half shriek brought Lennon up at a bound, his revolver out.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
From this reading CROOKED WAYS At gray dawn Elsie started to go out into the living room.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A dim form was lying in the passage, with feet against the chair that blocked the outer doorway.
Chapter 15 of Bloom of Cactus by Robert Ames Bennet holds 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 15 holds 165 sentences of Bloom of Cactus, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Bloom of Cactus by Robert Ames Bennet exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 15 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 Bloom of Cactus by Robert Ames Bennet on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4237 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22270 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22270, 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 Bloom of Cactus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Bloom of Cactus 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 Bloom of Cactus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
