Chapter 15 of The Great Taboo is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Great Taboo is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SECRET OF KORONG. "You have lived here long?" Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him. "You know the people well, and all their superstitions?" "_Hélas_, yes, monsieur," the Frenchman answered, with a sigh of regret.
Chapter 15 of The Great Taboo is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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 long seat for more than one person
From this reading “Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.”
a person of French nationality
From this reading “"_Hélas_, yes, monsieur," the Frenchman answered, with a sigh of regret.”
a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
From this reading “Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.”
past form of “motion” — show, express or direct through movement
From this reading “Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.”
in a polite manner
From this reading “Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.”
feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about
From this reading “"_Hélas_, yes, monsieur," the Frenchman answered, with a sigh of regret.”
plural of “superstition” — an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear
From this reading “"You know the people well, and all their superstitions?"”
(of the voice) quivering as from weakness or fear
From this reading “Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.”
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 Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
(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 "You know the people well, and all their superstitions?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "You know the people well, and all their superstitions?"
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "_Hélas_, yes, monsieur," the Frenchman answered, with a sigh of regret.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
a person of French nationality
From this reading "_Hélas_, yes, monsieur," the Frenchman answered, with a sigh of regret.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "You have lived here long?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "You have lived here long?"
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_Hélas_, yes, monsieur," the Frenchman answered, with a sigh of regret.
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "You know the people well, and all their superstitions?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE SECRET OF KORONG.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading "You have lived here long?"
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 "You have lived here long?"
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading "_Hélas_, yes, monsieur," the Frenchman answered, with a sigh of regret.
past form of “motion” — show, express or direct through movement
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE SECRET OF KORONG.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading "You know the people well, and all their superstitions?"
in a polite manner
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about
From this reading "_Hélas_, yes, monsieur," the Frenchman answered, with a sigh of regret.
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading THE SECRET OF KORONG.
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading "_Hélas_, yes, monsieur," the Frenchman answered, with a sigh of regret.
plural of “superstition” — an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear
From this reading "You know the people well, and all their superstitions?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SECRET OF KORONG.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading "You know the people well, and all their superstitions?"
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
in the direction of
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
(of the voice) quivering as from weakness or fear
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "You know the people well, and all their superstitions?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, toward which his new host politely motioned him.
an affirmative
From this reading "_Hélas_, yes, monsieur," the Frenchman answered, with a sigh of regret.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You have lived here long?"
Chapter 15 of The Great Taboo by Grant Allen holds 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 15 holds 139 sentences of The Great Taboo, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Great Taboo by Grant Allen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 15 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.
