Chapter 21 of Following darkness is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Following darkness is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform. “Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window. “There’s no use your waiting till the train starts. I hope you’ll have decent holidays.” He smiled.
Chapter 21 of Following darkness is here in full — 214 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
From this reading “I hope you’ll have decent holidays.””
a farewell remark
From this reading ““Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.”
plural of “holiday” — leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading “I hope you’ll have decent holidays.””
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading ““Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.”
Welsh industrialist and social reformer who founded cooperative communities (1771-1858)
From this reading “Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.”
a raised horizontal surface
From this reading “Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.”
plural of “start” — the beginning of anything
From this reading ““There’s no use your waiting till the train starts.”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.”
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 ““Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.”
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.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading “Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.
socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous
From this reading I hope you’ll have decent holidays.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.
a farewell remark
From this reading “Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I hope you’ll have decent holidays.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He smiled.
plural of “holiday” — leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading I hope you’ll have decent holidays.”
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading I hope you’ll have decent holidays.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading “Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.
not any; not one
From this reading “There’s no use your waiting till the train starts.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.
Welsh industrialist and social reformer who founded cooperative communities (1771-1858)
From this reading Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.
a raised horizontal surface
From this reading Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading He smiled.
plural of “start” — the beginning of anything
From this reading “There’s no use your waiting till the train starts.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There’s no use your waiting till the train starts.
up to a particular time
From this reading “There’s no use your waiting till the train starts.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Owen stepped back off the foot-board on to the platform.
create by training and teaching
From this reading “There’s no use your waiting till the train starts.
the act of using
From this reading “There’s no use your waiting till the train starts.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “There’s no use your waiting till the train starts.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading “Good-bye,” I said, leaning out of the carriage window.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I hope you’ll have decent holidays.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “There’s no use your waiting till the train starts.
Chapter 21 of Following darkness by Forrest Reid holds 214 sentences, grouped into 43 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 21 holds 214 sentences of Following darkness, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Following darkness by Forrest Reid exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 214 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 21 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 Following darkness by Forrest Reid on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6045 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75675 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75675, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 503 minutes of reading across 1209 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Following darkness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Following darkness 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 Following darkness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
