Chapter 15 of The Adventures of François is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Adventures of François is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air. At last he came upon an enormous excavation. In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses. This broken heap was large, and irregularly conical. He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
Chapter 15 of The Adventures of François is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 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.
relating to or resembling a cone
From this reading “This broken heap was large, and irregularly conical.”
plural of “course” — education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading “In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.”
the act of digging
From this reading “At last he came upon an enormous excavation.”
plural of “exploration” — to travel for the purpose of discovery
From this reading “He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.”
at an uneven rate
From this reading “This broken heap was large, and irregularly conical.”
-ing form of “note” — make mention of
From this reading “Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.”
past form of “tumble” — fall down, as if collapsing
From this reading “In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.”
device that heats water or supplies warmth to a room
From this reading “Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.”
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 “In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.”
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.”
find unexpectedly
In this reading “At last he came upon an enormous excavation.”
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 In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading At last he came upon an enormous excavation.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading This broken heap was large, and irregularly conical.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
with boldness, in a bold manner
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading This broken heap was large, and irregularly conical.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading At last he came upon an enormous excavation.
relating to or resembling a cone
From this reading This broken heap was large, and irregularly conical.
plural of “course” — education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
a flow of electricity through a conductor
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree
From this reading At last he came upon an enormous excavation.
the act of digging
From this reading At last he came upon an enormous excavation.
plural of “exploration” — to travel for the purpose of discovery
From this reading He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading This broken heap was large, and irregularly conical.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
at an uneven rate
From this reading This broken heap was large, and irregularly conical.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
set down according to a plan
From this reading In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading This broken heap was large, and irregularly conical.
immediately past
From this reading At last he came upon an enormous excavation.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
-ing form of “note” — make mention of
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
to some extent; in some degree; not wholly
From this reading In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This broken heap was large, and irregularly conical.
past form of “tumble” — fall down, as if collapsing
From this reading In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading At last he came upon an enormous excavation.
device that heats water or supplies warmth to a room
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In the middle was a mass of partly tumbled stone, laid in courses.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
an old word meaning “from where”
From this reading Sometimes he turned back, at others went on boldly, noting whence blew any current of warmer air.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading He moved around it in wonder, having seen nothing like it in his explorations.
Chapter 15 of The Adventures of François by S. Weir (Silas Weir) Mitchell holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 15 holds 404 sentences of The Adventures of François, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Adventures of François by S. Weir (Silas Weir) Mitchell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 15 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 The Adventures of François by S. Weir (Silas Weir) Mitchell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6265 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43241 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43241, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 522 minutes of reading across 1253 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Adventures of François section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Adventures of François 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 The Adventures of François, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
