Chapter 26 of The Black Diamond is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Black Diamond is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily. ‘George, you must!’ she repeated. She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away. Both of them heard a step on the path. She made a last, desperate effort.
Chapter 26 of The Black Diamond is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 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.
having or covered with or accompanied by blood
From this reading “‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.”
in a clumsy manner
From this reading “‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.”
arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
From this reading “She made a last, desperate effort.”
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading “She made a last, desperate effort.”
a course of conduct
From this reading “Both of them heard a step on the path.”
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading “She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away.”
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading “‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.”
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading “‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.”
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 “She made a last, desperate effort.”
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 Both of them heard a step on the path.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away.
having or covered with or accompanied by blood
From this reading ‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.
the two together, not just one
From this reading Both of them heard a step on the path.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away.
in a clumsy manner
From this reading ‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.
arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
From this reading She made a last, desperate effort.
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading She made a last, desperate effort.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading ‘George, you must!’ she repeated.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Both of them heard a step on the path.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away.
immediately past
From this reading She made a last, desperate effort.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading She made a last, desperate effort.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading ‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading ‘George, you must!’ she repeated.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Both of them heard a step on the path.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading ‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away.
a course of conduct
From this reading Both of them heard a step on the path.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away.
recurring again and again
From this reading ‘George, you must!’ she repeated.
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading ‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘George, you must!’ she repeated.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading She put her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away.
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading ‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading Both of them heard a step on the path.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Both of them heard a step on the path.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Both of them heard a step on the path.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘George, you must!’ she repeated.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘Oh, shut your bloody mouth!’ he said, rising clumsily.
Chapter 26 of The Black Diamond by Francis Brett Young holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 26 holds 400 sentences of The Black Diamond, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of The Black Diamond by Francis Brett Young exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 26 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 Black Diamond by Francis Brett Young on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10566 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48813 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48813, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2114 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Diamond section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Black Diamond 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 Black Diamond, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
