Chapter 18 of Claire is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Claire is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ROMANTIC REALIST. It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak. The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state. A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say. They were out on the lake shore.
Chapter 18 of Claire is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/66 · 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.
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading “A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.”
-ing form of “declare” — state emphatically and authoritatively
From this reading “The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.”
Roman martyr; supposedly Lawrence was ordered by the police to give up the church's treasure and when he responded by presenting the poor people of Rome he was roasted to death on a gridiron (died in 258)
From this reading “It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.”
involving the mind or an intellectual process
From this reading “The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.”
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading “A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.”
a philosopher who believes that universals are real and exist independently of anyone thinking of them
From this reading “THE ROMANTIC REALIST.”
belonging to or characteristic of Romanticism or the Romantic Movement in the arts
From this reading “THE ROMANTIC REALIST.”
past form of “seize” — take hold of; grab
From this reading “A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.”
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 “They were out on the lake shore.”
(psychology) a mental condition in which the qualities of a state are relatively constant even though the state itself may be dynamic
In this reading “The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.”
In this reading “They were out on the lake shore.”
keep in mind for attention or consideration
In this reading “A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
Having no one else present.
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
recognizable; marked
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
-ing form of “declare” — state emphatically and authoritatively
From this reading The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.
free from liquid or moisture; lacking natural or normal moisture or depleted of water; or no longer wet
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
set up or found
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading They were out on the lake shore.
immediately past
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
Roman martyr; supposedly Lawrence was ordered by the police to give up the church's treasure and when he responded by presenting the poor people of Rome he was roasted to death on a gridiron (died in 258)
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
involving the mind or an intellectual process
From this reading The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading They were out on the lake shore.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading They were out on the lake shore.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
a philosopher who believes that universals are real and exist independently of anyone thinking of them
From this reading THE ROMANTIC REALIST.
belonging to or characteristic of Romanticism or the Romantic Movement in the arts
From this reading THE ROMANTIC REALIST.
express in words
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
past form of “seize” — take hold of; grab
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading They were out on the lake shore.
express in speech
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ROMANTIC REALIST.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were out on the lake shore.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The instant he thought of declaring himself he was surprised at his own mental state.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
in an unsteady manner
From this reading A panic seized him, his heart beat unsteadily, his mouth grew dry, and he could think of nothing to say.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were out on the lake shore.
at the time that
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was the 1st of May when Lawrence at last found himself alone with Claire and decided to speak.
Chapter 18 of Claire by Leslie Burton Blades holds 330 sentences, grouped into 66 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 18 holds 330 sentences of Claire, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Claire by Leslie Burton Blades exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 330 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 18 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 Claire by Leslie Burton Blades on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4746 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30261 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30261, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 395 minutes of reading across 950 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Claire section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Claire 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 Claire, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
