Chapter 14 of Drowsy is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Drowsy is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants. Now it was the man--who might defy the gods. She was afraid:--of what, she knew not. But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart. There was reason to be afraid.
Chapter 14 of Drowsy is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading “But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.”
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading “But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.”
resist or confront with resistance
From this reading “Now it was the man--who might defy the gods.”
plural of “giant” — any creature of exceptional size
From this reading “His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.”
plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading “Now it was the man--who might defy the gods.”
easily agitated
From this reading “But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.”
past form of “recall” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading “His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.”
past form of “vanquish” — come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading “His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.”
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.
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 But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading She was afraid:--of what, she knew not.
in the past
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There was reason to be afraid.
a youthful male person
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
make calm or still
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
resist or confront with resistance
From this reading Now it was the man--who might defy the gods.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
plural of “giant” — any creature of exceptional size
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading Now it was the man--who might defy the gods.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Now it was the man--who might defy the gods.
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 She was afraid:--of what, she knew not.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Now it was the man--who might defy the gods.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Now it was the man--who might defy the gods.
easily agitated
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She was afraid:--of what, she knew not.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now it was the man--who might defy the gods.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading There was reason to be afraid.
past form of “recall” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was afraid:--of what, she knew not.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
in or at that place or location
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading But she took a backward step, a hand to her breast as if to calm a nervous heart.
past form of “vanquish” — come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading She was afraid:--of what, she knew not.
which person or people
From this reading His voice was gentle, but there was something in his face that recalled the boy of long ago, the boy who vanquished giants.
Chapter 14 of Drowsy by John Ames Mitchell holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of Drowsy, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Drowsy by John Ames Mitchell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Drowsy by John Ames Mitchell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6053 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53802 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53802, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 504 minutes of reading across 1211 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Drowsy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Drowsy 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 Drowsy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
