Chapter 14 of The Great Taboo is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Great Taboo is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"MR. THURSTAN, I PRESUME." Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril. Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it. Their loves and their hates were as shortlived as children's.
Chapter 14 of The Great Taboo is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
causing or capable of causing death
From this reading “Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.”
plural of “hate” — the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading “Their loves and their hates were as shortlived as children's.”
plural of “native” — an indigenous person who was born in a particular place
From this reading “Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.”
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading “Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.”
extremely
From this reading “Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.”
take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
From this reading “THURSTAN, I PRESUME."”
get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading “Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.”
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading “Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.”
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 Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Their loves and their hates were as shortlived as children's.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Their loves and their hates were as shortlived as children's.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
causing or capable of causing death
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
plural of “hate” — the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading Their loves and their hates were as shortlived as children's.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading THURSTAN, I PRESUME."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
plural of “love” — a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading Their loves and their hates were as shortlived as children's.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "MR.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
plural of “native” — an indigenous person who was born in a particular place
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
as might be expected
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
extremely
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
From this reading THURSTAN, I PRESUME."
get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
express in words
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Their loves and their hates were as shortlived as children's.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THURSTAN, I PRESUME."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Naturally enough, it was some time before Felix and Muriel could recover from the shock of their deadly peril.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Their loves and their hates were as shortlived as children's.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet, strange to say, the natives at the end of three days seemed positively to have forgotten all about it.
Chapter 14 of The Great Taboo by Grant Allen holds 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 14 holds 123 sentences of The Great Taboo, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Great Taboo by Grant Allen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 14 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 Taboo by Grant Allen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4610 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13876 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13876, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 384 minutes of reading across 922 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Great Taboo section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of The Great Taboo 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 Taboo, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
