Chapter 31 of The Lock and Key Library — American is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of The Lock and Key Library — American is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee. Thy life is demanded as a sacrifice. Prepare thee to die. Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition. Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
Chapter 31 of The Lock and Key Library — American is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 dejection
From this reading “He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.”
past form of “enjoin” — issue an injunction
From this reading “Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.””
unproductive of success
From this reading “Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition.”
the action of opposing something that you disapprove or disagree with
From this reading “Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition.”
plural of “prayer” — the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)
From this reading “Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.””
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading “Prepare thee to die.”
the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.
From this reading “Thy life is demanded as a sacrifice.”
put down by force or intimidation
From this reading “Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.””
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 He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
farther along in physical or mental development
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
later than; following
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Thy life is demanded as a sacrifice.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading Thy life is demanded as a sacrifice.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Prepare thee to die.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition.
causing dejection
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
past form of “enjoin” — issue an injunction
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
unproductive of success
From this reading Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition.
a young female
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Thy life is demanded as a sacrifice.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Thy life is demanded as a sacrifice.
engage in
From this reading Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition.
attach a tag or label to
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition.
not one, and not any
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition.
the action of opposing something that you disapprove or disagree with
From this reading Make not my office difficult by fruitless opposition.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
plural of “prayer” — the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading Prepare thee to die.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
past form of “resume” — take up or begin anew
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.
From this reading Thy life is demanded as a sacrifice.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
move or cause to move back and forth
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
plural of “stone” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
put down by force or intimidation
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Thy life is demanded as a sacrifice.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading He advanced to me, and, after another pause, resumed:—“Poor girl! a dismal fate has set its mark upon thee.
which person or people
From this reading Thy prayers might subdue stones; but none but he who enjoined my purpose can shake it.”
Chapter 31 of The Lock and Key Library — American by Julian [Editor] Hawthorne holds 169 sentences, grouped into 34 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 31 holds 169 sentences of The Lock and Key Library — American, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of The Lock and Key Library — American by Julian [Editor] Hawthorne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 169 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 31 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.
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About 570 minutes of reading across 1370 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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