Chapter 21 of Marzio's Crucifix, and Zoroaster is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of Marzio's Crucifix, and Zoroaster is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces. Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not. "Whose hounds are ye?" she said angrily. "Know ye not the queen? Make way!"
Chapter 21 of Marzio's Crucifix, and Zoroaster is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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 anger
From this reading “"Whose hounds are ye?" she said angrily.”
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.”
plural of “guard” — a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading “Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.”
plural of “hound” — any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears
From this reading “"Whose hounds are ye?" she said angrily.”
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading “Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.”
plural of “spear” — a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon
From this reading “Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.”
having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited
From this reading “Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.”
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 Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
with anger
From this reading "Whose hounds are ye?" she said angrily.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Whose hounds are ye?" she said angrily.
on or to one side
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
plural of “guard” — a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
plural of “hound” — any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears
From this reading "Whose hounds are ye?" she said angrily.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Know ye not the queen?
set down according to a plan
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
engage in
From this reading Make way!"
a particular point in time
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
free of extraneous elements of any kind
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading "Know ye not the queen?
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Whose hounds are ye?" she said angrily.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
plural of “spear” — a long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
hard to endure
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Atossa started back in pure astonishment and stared for a moment at the two guards, looking from one to the other, and trying to read their stolid faces.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Make way!"
belonging to which person
From this reading "Whose hounds are ye?" she said angrily.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Then she laid her hand on their spears, and would have pushed them aside; but she could not.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading "Whose hounds are ye?" she said angrily.
Chapter 21 of Marzio's Crucifix, and Zoroaster by F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford holds 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 156 sentences of Marzio's Crucifix, and Zoroaster, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of Marzio's Crucifix, and Zoroaster by F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 Marzio's Crucifix, and Zoroaster by F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6732 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16720 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16720, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 561 minutes of reading across 1347 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Marzio's Crucifix, and Zoroaster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of Marzio's Crucifix, and Zoroaster 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 Marzio's Crucifix, and Zoroaster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
