Chapter 25 of Drome is here in full — 82 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of Drome is here in full — 82 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MONSTER Rhodes made no response. Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber. Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself. "What are you doing?" I cried.
Chapter 25 of Drome is here in full — 82 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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 state of partial or total darkness
From this reading “Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.”
an imaginary creature usually having various human and animal parts
From this reading “THE MONSTER Rhodes made no response.”
abnormally large
From this reading “Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.”
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.”
past form of “rear” — stand up on the hind legs, of quadrupeds
From this reading “Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.”
a result
From this reading “THE MONSTER Rhodes made no response.”
British colonial financier and statesman in South Africa
From this reading “THE MONSTER Rhodes made no response.”
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading “Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.”
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 “Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.”
In this reading “Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.”
In this reading “Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.”
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 Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "What are you doing?"
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
a natural or artificial enclosed space
From this reading Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading I cried.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading "What are you doing?"
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I cried.
defying expression
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading THE MONSTER Rhodes made no response.
an imaginary creature usually having various human and animal parts
From this reading THE MONSTER Rhodes made no response.
abnormally large
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
in motion
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
not any; not one
From this reading THE MONSTER Rhodes made no response.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.
past form of “rear” — stand up on the hind legs, of quadrupeds
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
a result
From this reading THE MONSTER Rhodes made no response.
British colonial financier and statesman in South Africa
From this reading THE MONSTER Rhodes made no response.
a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
not in physical motion
From this reading Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MONSTER Rhodes made no response.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.
a special situation
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
in the direction of
From this reading Still he stood there, peering towards the end of the chamber.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
precisely as stated
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What are you doing?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Then of a sudden, to my inexpressible surprise, he began moving forward--moving towards that monstrous thing which reared itself up out of the gloom and the shadows, up and up, almost to the very roof itself.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What are you doing?"
Chapter 25 of Drome by John Martin Leahy holds 82 sentences, grouped into 17 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 25 holds 82 sentences of Drome, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of Drome by John Martin Leahy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 82 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 25 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 Drome by John Martin Leahy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4729 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71716 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71716, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 394 minutes of reading across 946 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Drome section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Drome 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 Drome, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
