Chapter 1 of The great amulet is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The great amulet is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it. We separated that day. I have neither seen nor heard of her since." A long silence followed this bald statement of the case. Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
Chapter 1 of The great amulet is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 33/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 161–165
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.
with no effort to conceal
From this reading “A long silence followed this bald statement of the case.”
free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits
From this reading “"You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.”
give expression to
From this reading “Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.”
street names for gamma hydroxybutyrate
From this reading “Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.”
United States architect (1838-1886)
From this reading “Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.”
being or feeling set or kept apart from others
From this reading “We separated that day.”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “"You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.”
a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc
From this reading “A long silence followed this bald statement of the case.”
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 "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
with no effort to conceal
From this reading A long silence followed this bald statement of the case.
an occurrence of something
From this reading A long silence followed this bald statement of the case.
free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading We separated that day.
divisible by two
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
give expression to
From this reading Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading A long silence followed this bald statement of the case.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading I have neither seen nor heard of her since."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I have neither seen nor heard of her since."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have neither seen nor heard of her since."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
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 A long silence followed this bald statement of the case.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
street names for gamma hydroxybutyrate
From this reading Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading I have neither seen nor heard of her since."
not any; not one
From this reading Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading I have neither seen nor heard of her since."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I have neither seen nor heard of her since."
a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
From this reading Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
United States architect (1838-1886)
From this reading Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I have neither seen nor heard of her since."
being or feeling set or kept apart from others
From this reading We separated that day.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading A long silence followed this bald statement of the case.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading I have neither seen nor heard of her since."
a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc
From this reading A long silence followed this bald statement of the case.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading We separated that day.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading A long silence followed this bald statement of the case.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We separated that day.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Max Richardson had no words in which to express the pain he felt.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You asked for the truth," he said, in a hard, even voice, "and--you have made a clean shot at it.
Chapter 1 of The great amulet by Maud Diver holds 212 sentences, grouped into 43 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 1 holds 212 sentences of The great amulet, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The great amulet by Maud Diver exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 212 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 1 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 great amulet by Maud Diver on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8677 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20238 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20238, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1736 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The great amulet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The great amulet 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 great amulet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
