Chapter XXXV of The Coil of Carne, “Weary Waiting,” is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXV
Chapter XXXV of The Coil of Carne, “Weary Waiting,” is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys. "I am surprised Denzil has not written. But so many things may happen out there. His letter may have gone astray. There may be difficulty in communicating with Sebastopol.
Chapter XXXV of The Coil of Carne, “Weary Waiting,” is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
away from the right path or direction
From this reading “His letter may have gone astray.”
the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
From this reading “There may be difficulty in communicating with Sebastopol.”
an effort that is inconvenient
From this reading “There may be difficulty in communicating with Sebastopol.”
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading “"Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.”
come to pass
From this reading “But so many things may happen out there.”
a city in southern Ukraine on the Black Sea
From this reading “There may be difficulty in communicating with Sebastopol.”
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “"I am surprised Denzil has not written.”
position 20 in a countable series of things
From this reading “"Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.”
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 “But so many things may happen out there.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I am surprised Denzil has not written.
eagerly desirous
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
away from the right path or direction
From this reading His letter may have gone astray.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There may be difficulty in communicating with Sebastopol.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But so many things may happen out there.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
From this reading There may be difficulty in communicating with Sebastopol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
an effort that is inconvenient
From this reading There may be difficulty in communicating with Sebastopol.
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (“further” is used more often than “farther” in this abstract sense)
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
destroyed or killed
From this reading His letter may have gone astray.
come to pass
From this reading But so many things may happen out there.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I am surprised Denzil has not written.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading His letter may have gone astray.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I am surprised Denzil has not written.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There may be difficulty in communicating with Sebastopol.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading His letter may have gone astray.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading But so many things may happen out there.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading But so many things may happen out there.
information about recent and important events
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "I am surprised Denzil has not written.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading But so many things may happen out there.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
a city in southern Ukraine on the Black Sea
From this reading There may be difficulty in communicating with Sebastopol.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading But so many things may happen out there.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading "I am surprised Denzil has not written.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
in or at that place or location
From this reading But so many things may happen out there.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading But so many things may happen out there.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
position 20 in a countable series of things
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
in the company of; together with
From this reading There may be difficulty in communicating with Sebastopol.
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading "I am surprised Denzil has not written.
but in spite of that
From this reading "Nothing yet," said Sir Denzil to Eager, on his twentieth anxious call after further news of the boys.
Chapter 35 of The Coil of Carne by John Oxenham holds 70 sentences, grouped into 14 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 35 holds 70 sentences of The Coil of Carne, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 35 of The Coil of Carne by John Oxenham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 70 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 35 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #53819, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1674 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Coil of Carne section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 Coil of Carne, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
