Chapter 25 of The Lamp in the Desert is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of The Lamp in the Desert is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew. It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie. He laid the child back upon the sofa and got up. She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her. He moved noiselessly to the window.
Chapter 25 of The Lamp in the Desert is here in full — 160 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible
From this reading “It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.”
a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
From this reading “She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.”
absentminded dreaming while awake
From this reading “It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.”
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading “She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.”
the state of being asleep
From this reading “She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “He laid the child back upon the sofa and got up.”
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading “It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.”
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.”
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 RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew.
presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He laid the child back upon the sofa and got up.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He laid the child back upon the sofa and got up.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
a young person of either sex
From this reading He laid the child back upon the sofa and got up.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He laid the child back upon the sofa and got up.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew.
set down according to a plan
From this reading He laid the child back upon the sofa and got up.
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 RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading He moved noiselessly to the window.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew.
without a sound
From this reading He moved noiselessly to the window.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew.
a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
From this reading She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
absentminded dreaming while awake
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.
the state of being asleep
From this reading She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading He laid the child back upon the sofa and got up.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading RUSTAM KARIN How long a time passed he never knew.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He laid the child back upon the sofa and got up.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading He laid the child back upon the sofa and got up.
a porch along the outside of a building (sometimes partly enclosed)
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.
at the time that
From this reading It could not in actual fact have been more than a few minutes when a sudden sound from the verandah put an end to his reverie.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading He moved noiselessly to the window.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She was sleeping off the shock; it would be a pity to wake her.
Chapter 25 of The Lamp in the Desert by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell holds 160 sentences, grouped into 32 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 25 holds 160 sentences of The Lamp in the Desert, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of The Lamp in the Desert by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 160 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 25 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 Lamp in the Desert by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10475 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13763 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13763, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2095 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Lamp in the Desert section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Lamp in the Desert 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 Lamp in the Desert, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
