Chapter 34 of The Ordeal by Fire is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIV
Chapter 34 of The Ordeal by Fire is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SERENITY I had fallen face downwards. I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration. My eyes closed. I made a convulsive effort to get up. Impossible!
Chapter 34 of The Ordeal by Fire is here in full — 102 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
affected by involuntary jerky muscular contractions; resembling a spasm
From this reading “I made a convulsive effort to get up.”
spatially or metaphorically from a higher to a lower level or position
From this reading “SERENITY I had fallen face downwards.”
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading “I made a convulsive effort to get up.”
having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation
From this reading “I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.”
a torn ragged wound
From this reading “I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.”
an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation
From this reading “I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.”
The state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled by external storms.
From this reading “SERENITY I had fallen face downwards.”
seemingly loud enough to break something; violently rattling or clattering
From this reading “I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “I made a convulsive effort to get up.”
rise to one's feet
In this reading “I made a convulsive effort to get up.”
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 I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading My eyes closed.
affected by involuntary jerky muscular contractions; resembling a spasm
From this reading I made a convulsive effort to get up.
spatially or metaphorically from a higher to a lower level or position
From this reading SERENITY I had fallen face downwards.
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading I made a convulsive effort to get up.
having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation
From this reading I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.
opinion or judgment
From this reading My eyes closed.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading SERENITY I had fallen face downwards.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading SERENITY I had fallen face downwards.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I made a convulsive effort to get up.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading SERENITY I had fallen face downwards.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading SERENITY I had fallen face downwards.
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading Impossible!
a torn ragged wound
From this reading I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading I made a convulsive effort to get up.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My eyes closed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.
an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation
From this reading I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.
The state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled by external storms.
From this reading SERENITY I had fallen face downwards.
seemingly loud enough to break something; violently rattling or clattering
From this reading I experienced a sensation of shattering and laceration.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I made a convulsive effort to get up.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I made a convulsive effort to get up.
Chapter 34 of The Ordeal by Fire by Marcel Berger holds 102 sentences, grouped into 21 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 34 holds 102 sentences of The Ordeal by Fire, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 34 of The Ordeal by Fire by Marcel Berger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 102 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 34 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 Ordeal by Fire by Marcel Berger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11806 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60166 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60166, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2362 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ordeal by Fire section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Ordeal by Fire 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 Ordeal by Fire, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
