Chapter 1 of The Mirror of Kong Ho is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Mirror of Kong Ho is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Concerning the journey. The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression. Suppression. The incredible obtuseness of those who attend within tea-houses. The harmonious attitude of a person of commerce.
Chapter 1 of The Mirror of Kong Ho is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
plural of “barbarian” — a member of an uncivilized people
From this reading “The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.”
transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services)
From this reading “The harmonious attitude of a person of commerce.”
plural of “demon” — an evil supernatural being
From this reading “The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.”
musically pleasing
From this reading “The harmonious attitude of a person of commerce.”
beyond belief or understanding
From this reading “The incredible obtuseness of those who attend within tea-houses.”
past form of “invoke” — summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
From this reading “The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.”
the failure to develop some part or organ
From this reading “The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.”
not conforming to legality, moral law, or social convention
From this reading “The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.”
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 The harmonious attitude of a person of commerce.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
be present at (meetings, church services, university), etc.
From this reading The incredible obtuseness of those who attend within tea-houses.
a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways
From this reading The harmonious attitude of a person of commerce.
plural of “barbarian” — a member of an uncivilized people
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services)
From this reading The harmonious attitude of a person of commerce.
-ing form of “concern” — be relevant to
From this reading Concerning the journey.
plural of “demon” — an evil supernatural being
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
musically pleasing
From this reading The harmonious attitude of a person of commerce.
beyond belief or understanding
From this reading The incredible obtuseness of those who attend within tea-houses.
past form of “invoke” — summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
undertake a journey or trip
From this reading Concerning the journey.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
the quality of being slow to understand
From this reading The incredible obtuseness of those who attend within tea-houses.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
a human being
From this reading The harmonious attitude of a person of commerce.
possession of controlling influence
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
the failure to develop some part or organ
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The incredible obtuseness of those who attend within tea-houses.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Concerning the journey.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading The incredible obtuseness of those who attend within tea-houses.
not conforming to legality, moral law, or social convention
From this reading The unlawful demons invoked by certain of the barbarians; their power and the manner of their suppression.
which person or people
From this reading The incredible obtuseness of those who attend within tea-houses.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading The incredible obtuseness of those who attend within tea-houses.
Chapter 1 of The Mirror of Kong Ho by Ernest Bramah holds 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 1 holds 65 sentences of The Mirror of Kong Ho, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Mirror of Kong Ho by Ernest Bramah exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 1 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 Mirror of Kong Ho by Ernest Bramah on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1350 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1077 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1077, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 112 minutes of reading across 270 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mirror of Kong Ho section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Mirror of Kong Ho 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 Mirror of Kong Ho, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
