Chapter XIII of The City of Pleasure, “Performances of Mr. Jetsam,” is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIII of The City of Pleasure, “Performances of Mr. Jetsam,” is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space. But Ilam had not moved. “I’ve had enough,” said Carpentaria. “We’ll descend. Ring the bell.”
Chapter XIII of The City of Pleasure, “Performances of Mr. Jetsam,” is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
one who is the object of choice; who is given preference
From this reading “Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading ““We’ll descend.”
being ten more than thirty
From this reading “Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.”
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading “Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.”
a straight line at right angles to another line
From this reading “Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.”
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading “Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.”
tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading “Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.”
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading “Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.”
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 “Ring the bell.””
being one hundred more than two hundred
In this reading “Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.”
In this reading “Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.”
In this reading “Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.”
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 Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading Ring the bell.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But Ilam had not moved.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
a wide shallow inlet of the Arafura Sea in northern Australia
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
one who is the object of choice; who is given preference
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “We’ll descend.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading “I’ve had enough,” said Carpentaria.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
being ten more than thirty
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
ten 10s
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’ve had enough,” said Carpentaria.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading But Ilam had not moved.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But Ilam had not moved.
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
a straight line at right angles to another line
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading Ring the bell.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I’ve had enough,” said Carpentaria.
tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We’ll descend.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Carpentaria slipped back into the car with a shiver, as it occurred to him that Ilam, had he so chosen, might have pushed him into three hundred and forty perpendicular feet of space.
Chapter 13 of The City of Pleasure by Arnold Bennett holds 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 13 holds 100 sentences of The City of Pleasure, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The City of Pleasure by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 13 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 City of Pleasure by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4827 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55115 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55115, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 402 minutes of reading across 966 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The City of Pleasure section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The City of Pleasure 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 City of Pleasure, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
