Chapter II of The Joss: A Reversion, “Locked Out,” is here in full — 266 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter II of The Joss: A Reversion, “Locked Out,” is here in full — 266 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was. But at last I decided that it was a man. I never saw such clothes. Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall. And thin!
Chapter II of The Joss: A Reversion, “Locked Out,” is here in full — 266 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/53 · 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.
clothing in general
From this reading “I never saw such clothes.”
the attire worn in a play or at a fancy dress ball
From this reading “Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.”
absence of light or illumination
From this reading “Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.”
recognizable; marked
From this reading “But at last I decided that it was a man.”
in a surprising manner
From this reading “Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.”
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading “Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.”
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading “And thin!”
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading “Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.”
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.
detect with the senses
In this reading “At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.”
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 At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And thin!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But at last I decided that it was a man.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
clothing in general
From this reading I never saw such clothes.
the attire worn in a play or at a fancy dress ball
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
recognizable; marked
From this reading But at last I decided that it was a man.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
immediately past
From this reading But at last I decided that it was a man.
engage in
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I never saw such clothes.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
cut with a saw
From this reading I never saw such clothes.
express in words
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading I never saw such clothes.
in a surprising manner
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But at last I decided that it was a man.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading And thin!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading Whether it was the darkness, or his costume, or what it was, I cannot say, but he seemed to me to be surprisingly tall.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading At first I could not make out if it was a man or woman or what it was.
Chapter 2 of The Joss: A Reversion by Richard Marsh holds 266 sentences, grouped into 54 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 2 holds 266 sentences of The Joss: A Reversion, unabridged, divided into 54 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Joss: A Reversion by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 266 sentences, grouped into 54 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 54 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 54 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 2 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 Joss: A Reversion by Richard Marsh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7589 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64997 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64997, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1518 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Joss: A Reversion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Joss: A Reversion 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 Joss: A Reversion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
