Chapter 14 of The Lion's Share is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Lion's Share is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SOIRÉE "Monsieur Foa--which floor?" Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale. This time she got an answer. It was the fifth or top floor. Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
Chapter 14 of The Lion's Share is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading “Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.”
a French caretaker of apartments or a hotel; lives on the premises and oversees people entering and leaving and handles mail and acts as janitor or porter
From this reading “Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.”
a quantity of liquor equal to one fifth of a United States gallon
From this reading “It was the fifth or top floor.”
characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution
From this reading “Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.”
type genus of the Musaceae: bananas
From this reading “Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.”
a wrapped container
From this reading “Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.”
the trait of remaining inactive; a lack of initiative
From this reading “Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.”
inflected form of “permit” — consent to, give permission
From this reading “Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.”
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 Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
anew
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading This time she got an answer.
react verbally
From this reading This time she got an answer.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
a French caretaker of apartments or a hotel; lives on the premises and oversees people entering and leaving and handles mail and acts as janitor or porter
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
a quantity of liquor equal to one fifth of a United States gallon
From this reading It was the fifth or top floor.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading SOIRÉE "Monsieur Foa--which floor?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SOIRÉE "Monsieur Foa--which floor?"
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading This time she got an answer.
characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the fifth or top floor.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”
From this reading SOIRÉE "Monsieur Foa--which floor?"
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
type genus of the Musaceae: bananas
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
on one occasion
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading It was the fifth or top floor.
a wrapped container
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
the trait of remaining inactive; a lack of initiative
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
inflected form of “permit” — consent to, give permission
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading This time she got an answer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SOIRÉE "Monsieur Foa--which floor?"
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Audrey asked once again of the aged concierge in the Rue d'Aumale.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This time she got an answer.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading This time she got an answer.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
the upper part of anything
From this reading It was the fifth or top floor.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the fifth or top floor.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading SOIRÉE "Monsieur Foa--which floor?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading Musa said nothing, permitting himself to be taken about like a parcel, though with a more graceful passivity.
Chapter 14 of The Lion's Share by Arnold Bennett holds 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 155 sentences of The Lion's Share, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Lion's Share by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 Lion's Share by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8370 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14487 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14487, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1674 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Lion's Share section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Lion's Share 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 Lion's Share, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
