Chapter 27 of Romance is here in full — 381 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of Romance is here in full — 381 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Well, he did,” Sadler assented slowly. “But any one could for a disguise. It’s as easy as...” Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.” I said, “Wasn’t he an older man?
Chapter 27 of Romance is here in full — 381 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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 means of altering one's appearance to conceal one's identity.
From this reading ““But any one could for a disguise.”
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “It’s as easy as...””
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading “Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.””
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading “I said, “Wasn’t he an older man?”
cause to move by pulling
From this reading “Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.””
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.””
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading “Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.””
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.””
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 any one could for a disguise.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I said, “Wasn’t he an older man?
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “But any one could for a disguise.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It’s as easy as...”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, he did,” Sadler assented slowly.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But any one could for a disguise.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “But any one could for a disguise.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “Well, he did,” Sadler assented slowly.
A means of altering one's appearance to conceal one's identity.
From this reading “But any one could for a disguise.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading It’s as easy as...”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “But any one could for a disguise.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Well, he did,” Sadler assented slowly.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I said, “Wasn’t he an older man?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s as easy as...”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading I said, “Wasn’t he an older man?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading I said, “Wasn’t he an older man?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “But any one could for a disguise.
cause to move by pulling
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, he did,” Sadler assented slowly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I said, “Wasn’t he an older man?
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading “Well, he did,” Sadler assented slowly.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I said, “Wasn’t he an older man?
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well, he did,” Sadler assented slowly.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading Beside me, the turnkey whispered suddenly, “Pull him up; stop his mouth.”
Chapter 27 of Romance by Joseph Conrad holds 381 sentences, grouped into 77 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 27 holds 381 sentences of Romance, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of Romance by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 381 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 27 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 Romance by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11053 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17642 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17642, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2211 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Romance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Romance 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 Romance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
