Chapter 13 of The Crack of Doom is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Crack of Doom is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MISS METFORD'S PLAN. We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer. Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger. This time everything was different. That which interested me before seemed trivial now.
Chapter 13 of The Crack of Doom is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
a judge of a probate court
From this reading “We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.”
a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading “Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.”
a place (seaport or airport) where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country
From this reading “We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.”
superlative of “slight” — (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with “a”) at least some
From this reading “Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.”
a clam that is usually steamed in the shell
From this reading “We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.”
(informal) small and of little importance
From this reading “That which interested me before seemed trivial now.”
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading “Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.”
an act of traveling by water
From this reading “Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.”
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 “Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.”
In this reading “Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.”
In this reading “That which interested me before seemed trivial now.”
In this reading “We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.”
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 Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading This time everything was different.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading This time everything was different.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
having or showing interest; especially curiosity or fascination or concern
From this reading That which interested me before seemed trivial now.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading That which interested me before seemed trivial now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MISS METFORD'S PLAN.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading MISS METFORD'S PLAN.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading That which interested me before seemed trivial now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
on one occasion
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
a judge of a probate court
From this reading We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.
a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
have the will and intention to carry out some action
From this reading MISS METFORD'S PLAN.
a place (seaport or airport) where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country
From this reading We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading That which interested me before seemed trivial now.
superlative of “slight” — (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with “a”) at least some
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
a clam that is usually steamed in the shell
From this reading We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That which interested me before seemed trivial now.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This time everything was different.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading This time everything was different.
(informal) small and of little importance
From this reading That which interested me before seemed trivial now.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
an act of traveling by water
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We coaled at Port Said like any ordinary steamer.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Although I had more than once made the Red Sea voyage, I had never before taken the slightest interest in the coaling of the vessel on which I was a passenger.
Chapter 13 of The Crack of Doom by Robert Cromie holds 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 129 sentences of The Crack of Doom, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Crack of Doom by Robert Cromie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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.
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Yes. All 3212 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26563 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26563, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 267 minutes of reading across 643 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crack of Doom 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 Crack of Doom, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
