Chapter 7 of The Coward Behind the Curtain is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Coward Behind the Curtain is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know. She looked about her, wondering where she was; how she had come there. She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky. She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath. How her head ached; it made her feel so stupid.
Chapter 7 of The Coward Behind the Curtain is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
past form of “ache” — feel physical pain
From this reading “How her head ached; it made her feel so stupid.”
a procession (of wagons or mules or camels) traveling together in single file
From this reading “THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.”
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading “She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.”
worthless material that is to be disposed of
From this reading “She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.”
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky.”
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading “How her head ached; it made her feel so stupid.”
directly under, often hidden by what is above
From this reading “She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.”
showing curiosity
From this reading “She looked about her, wondering where she was; how she had come there.”
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.
where the air is unconfined
In this reading “She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky.”
In this reading “She looked about her, wondering where she was; how she had come there.”
In this reading “She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading She looked about her, wondering where she was; how she had come there.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky.
past form of “ache” — feel physical pain
From this reading How her head ached; it made her feel so stupid.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
a procession (of wagons or mules or camels) traveling together in single file
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She looked about her, wondering where she was; how she had come there.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading How her head ached; it made her feel so stupid.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading How her head ached; it made her feel so stupid.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She looked about her, wondering where she was; how she had come there.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading How her head ached; it made her feel so stupid.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She looked about her, wondering where she was; how she had come there.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading How her head ached; it made her feel so stupid.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky.
worthless material that is to be disposed of
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading How her head ached; it made her feel so stupid.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky.
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading How her head ached; it made her feel so stupid.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
in or at that place or location
From this reading THE CARAVAN How long she had been there she did not know.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
directly under, often hidden by what is above
From this reading She seemed to be lying on some rubbish; but something hard was underneath.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She looked about her, wondering where she was; how she had come there.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading She was in the open air; above her were the stars in the sky.
in or at the place that
From this reading She looked about her, wondering where she was; how she had come there.
showing curiosity
From this reading She looked about her, wondering where she was; how she had come there.
Chapter 7 of The Coward Behind the Curtain by Richard Marsh holds 227 sentences, grouped into 46 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 7 holds 227 sentences of The Coward Behind the Curtain, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Coward Behind the Curtain by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 227 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 7 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 Coward Behind the Curtain by Richard Marsh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4434 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40347 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40347, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 369 minutes of reading across 887 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Coward Behind the Curtain section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Coward Behind the Curtain 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 Coward Behind the Curtain, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
