Chapter 12 of The Emperor of Elam, and other stories is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Emperor of Elam, and other stories is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Oh, yes; Nadir Shah.” Mrs. Maturin took green chartreuse. “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it. But I never dreamed of anything so magnificent. The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
Chapter 12 of The Emperor of Elam, and other stories is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
plural of “beetle” — insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wings
From this reading “The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.”
aromatic green or yellow liqueur flavored with orange peel and hyssop and peppermint oils; made at monastery near Grenoble, France
From this reading “Mrs. Maturin took green chartreuse.”
having a hardened crust as a covering
From this reading “The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.”
hard white substance covering the crown of a tooth
From this reading “The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.”
plural of “kurd” — a member of a largely pastoral Islamic people who live in Kurdistan; the largest ethnic group without their own state
From this reading ““And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.”
an extreme state of adversity; the lowest point of anything
From this reading ““Oh, yes; Nadir Shah.””
title for the former hereditary monarch of Iran
From this reading ““Oh, yes; Nadir Shah.””
a moving crowd
From this reading “The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.”
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.
a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
In this reading “The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.”
In this reading “But I never dreamed of anything so magnificent.”
In this reading ““And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.”
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 The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
later than; following
From this reading “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.
any thing at all
From this reading But I never dreamed of anything so magnificent.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
plural of “beetle” — insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wings
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I never dreamed of anything so magnificent.
aromatic green or yellow liqueur flavored with orange peel and hyssop and peppermint oils; made at monastery near Grenoble, France
From this reading Mrs. Maturin took green chartreuse.
having a hardened crust as a covering
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
conceived of or imagined or hoped for
From this reading But I never dreamed of anything so magnificent.
hard white substance covering the crown of a tooth
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
coins made of gold
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
dazzlingly beautiful
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading Mrs. Maturin took green chartreuse.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading But I never dreamed of anything so magnificent.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.
plural of “kurd” — a member of a largely pastoral Islamic people who live in Kurdistan; the largest ethnic group without their own state
From this reading “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.
characterized by grandeur
From this reading But I never dreamed of anything so magnificent.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Maturin took green chartreuse.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Maturin took green chartreuse.
an extreme state of adversity; the lowest point of anything
From this reading “Oh, yes; Nadir Shah.”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading But I never dreamed of anything so magnificent.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, yes; Nadir Shah.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
title for the former hereditary monarch of Iran
From this reading “Oh, yes; Nadir Shah.”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading But I never dreamed of anything so magnificent.
plural of “stone” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
a moving crowd
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “And after his death the Kurds got hold of it.
the chair of state for a monarch, bishop, etc.
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Mrs. Maturin took green chartreuse.
relating to or situated in or characteristic of the tropics (the region on either side of the equator)
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The gold and enamel of the throne were crusted with precious stones, as if a swarm of gorgeous tropical beetles had descended on it.
an affirmative
From this reading “Oh, yes; Nadir Shah.”
Chapter 12 of The Emperor of Elam, and other stories by H. G. (Harrison Griswold) Dwight holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 12 holds 417 sentences of The Emperor of Elam, and other stories, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Emperor of Elam, and other stories by H. G. (Harrison Griswold) Dwight exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 12 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 Emperor of Elam, and other stories by H. G. (Harrison Griswold) Dwight on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6804 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71279 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71279, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 567 minutes of reading across 1361 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Emperor of Elam, and other stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Emperor of Elam, and other stories 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 Emperor of Elam, and other stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
