Chapter 14 of The Ne'er-Do-Well is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Ne'er-Do-Well is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Yes, sar! Shortly I shall suffer a swelling." Allan stroked the spot tenderly. "It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone. You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
Chapter 14 of The Ne'er-Do-Well is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates
From this reading “"It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone.”
a stick that people can lean on to help them walk
From this reading “You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."”
a hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses
From this reading “You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."”
usually large hard-shelled seed
From this reading “You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."”
for a short time
From this reading “Shortly I shall suffer a swelling."”
past form of “stroke” — touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions
From this reading “Allan stroked the spot tenderly.”
an abnormal protuberance or localized enlargement
From this reading “Shortly I shall suffer a swelling."”
with tenderness; in a tender manner
From this reading “Allan stroked the spot tenderly.”
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 Shortly I shall suffer a swelling."
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Allan stroked the spot tenderly.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates
From this reading "It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone.
a stick that people can lean on to help them walk
From this reading You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading "It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Shortly I shall suffer a swelling."
the formation of a mental image of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses
From this reading "It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone.
a hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses
From this reading You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
and nothing more
From this reading You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
not any; not one
From this reading "It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone.
usually large hard-shelled seed
From this reading You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Yes, sar!
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Shortly I shall suffer a swelling."
for a short time
From this reading Shortly I shall suffer a swelling."
characterized by good substantial quality
From this reading "It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Allan stroked the spot tenderly.
past form of “stroke” — touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions
From this reading Allan stroked the spot tenderly.
undergo or be subjected to
From this reading Shortly I shall suffer a swelling."
an abnormal protuberance or localized enlargement
From this reading Shortly I shall suffer a swelling."
with tenderness; in a tender manner
From this reading Allan stroked the spot tenderly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Allan stroked the spot tenderly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It's all imagination; there's no feeling to solid bone.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, sar!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You've got an ivory 'nut,' my friend, just like a cane."
Chapter 14 of The Ne'er-Do-Well by Rex Beach holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 14 holds 407 sentences of The Ne'er-Do-Well, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Ne'er-Do-Well by Rex Beach exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Ne'er-Do-Well by Rex Beach on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9399 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5405 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5405, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1880 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ne'er-Do-Well section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Ne'er-Do-Well 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 Ne'er-Do-Well, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
