Chapter 15 of 'Doc.' Gordon is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of 'Doc.' Gordon is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
James sat as if turned to stone. All in a second he realized what it must be. He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair. "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was. He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
Chapter 15 of 'Doc.' Gordon is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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 formal charge of wrongdoing brought against a person; the act of imputing blame or guilt
From this reading “He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.”
good weather with comfortable temperatures
From this reading “He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.”
lacking in or deprived of strength or power
From this reading “He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “James sat as if turned to stone.”
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading “He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.”
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading “All in a second he realized what it must be.”
not marked by the use of reason
From this reading “"What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.”
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 All in a second he realized what it must be.
a formal charge of wrongdoing brought against a person; the act of imputing blame or guilt
From this reading He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
(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 All in a second he realized what it must be.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading James sat as if turned to stone.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading All in a second he realized what it must be.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.
good weather with comfortable temperatures
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading All in a second he realized what it must be.
lacking in or deprived of strength or power
From this reading He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading James sat as if turned to stone.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading All in a second he realized what it must be.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading All in a second he realized what it must be.
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading James sat as if turned to stone.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading He let Clemency's hand go, and leaned back in his chair.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading All in a second he realized what it must be.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading All in a second he realized what it must be.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading James sat as if turned to stone.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading All in a second he realized what it must be.
not marked by the use of reason
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading James sat as if turned to stone.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading James sat as if turned to stone.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading James sat as if turned to stone.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
(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 He knew perfectly well what she meant, and he knew perfectly well that he was utterly helpless before her accusation.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading All in a second he realized what it must be.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What do you mean, Clemency?" he asked finally, but he realized how senseless the question was.
Chapter 15 of 'Doc.' Gordon by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman holds 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 103 sentences of 'Doc.' Gordon, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of 'Doc.' Gordon by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 103 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.
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.
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 'Doc.' Gordon by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5047 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15695 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15695, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 420 minutes of reading across 1010 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through 'Doc.' Gordon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of 'Doc.' Gordon 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 'Doc.' Gordon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
