Chapter 13 of Erik Dorn is here in full — 940 sentences across 188 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Erik Dorn is here in full — 940 sentences across 188 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Time to get up. An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads. Here's another day...." Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes. She lay quietly, smiling.
Chapter 13 of Erik Dorn is here in full — 940 sentences across 188 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/188 · 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.
with boldness, in a bold manner
From this reading “An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.”
floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
From this reading “An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.”
(of a leaf shape) having a somewhat elongated form with approximately parallel sides
From this reading “An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.”
(Old Testament) the second wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin
From this reading “Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes.”
inflected form of “slap” — hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
From this reading “An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.”
ready to fall asleep
From this reading “An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.”
the act of gripping and pressing firmly
From this reading “An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.”
the rays of the sun
From this reading “An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.”
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.
(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 An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Here's another day...."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
with boldness, in a bold manner
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Here's another day...."
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Time to get up.
depressingly dark
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Here's another day...."
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She lay quietly, smiling.
(of a leaf shape) having a somewhat elongated form with approximately parallel sides
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes.
with low volume
From this reading She lay quietly, smiling.
(Old Testament) the second wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin
From this reading Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes.
a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes.
inflected form of “slap” — hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
ready to fall asleep
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading She lay quietly, smiling.
the act of gripping and pressing firmly
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
the rays of the sun
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading An oblong of sunlight squeezing through beneath the drawn blind and slapping itself boldly on the gloomy carpet ... "shame on all sleepy heads.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Time to get up.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Time to get up.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Time to get up.
Chapter 13 of Erik Dorn by Ben Hecht holds 940 sentences, grouped into 188 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 13 holds 940 sentences of Erik Dorn, unabridged, divided into 188 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Erik Dorn by Ben Hecht exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 940 sentences, grouped into 188 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 188 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 188 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 13 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 Erik Dorn by Ben Hecht on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9290 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22358 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22358, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1858 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Erik Dorn section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of Erik Dorn 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 Erik Dorn, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
