Chapter 27 of The Perfect World is here in full — 303 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The Perfect World is here in full — 303 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched. Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep. Towards morning Waiko raised himself from the ground. He was pitiable to look upon. Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
Chapter 27 of The Perfect World is here in full — 303 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/60 · 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.
a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area
From this reading “Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.”
an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others
From this reading “Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.”
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading “THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.”
inspiring mixed contempt and pity
From this reading “He was pitiable to look upon.”
superlative of “slight” — (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with “a”) at least some
From this reading “Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.”
comparative of “strong” — having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading “Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.”
in every part of a place, or for the whole of a period
From this reading “THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.”
a light noise, like the noise of silk clothing or leaves blowing in the wind
From this reading “THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.”
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 “Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.”
In this reading “THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.”
look on as or consider
In this reading “He was pitiable to look upon.”
In this reading “Towards morning Waiko raised himself from the ground.”
find unexpectedly
In this reading “Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.”
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 Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.
in addition
From this reading Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.
a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading Towards morning Waiko raised himself from the ground.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Towards morning Waiko raised himself from the ground.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He was pitiable to look upon.
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Towards morning Waiko raised himself from the ground.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
inspiring mixed contempt and pity
From this reading He was pitiable to look upon.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading Towards morning Waiko raised himself from the ground.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
superlative of “slight” — (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with “a”) at least some
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
comparative of “strong” — having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.
in every part of a place, or for the whole of a period
From this reading THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep.
in the direction of
From this reading Towards morning Waiko raised himself from the ground.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading He was pitiable to look upon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Towards morning Waiko raised himself from the ground.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was pitiable to look upon.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.
a light noise, like the noise of silk clothing or leaves blowing in the wind
From this reading THE CAVE OF WHISPERING MADNESS Throughout the night Alan watched.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Led on by a stronger will the madness had come upon him also.
Chapter 27 of The Perfect World by Ella M. Scrymsour holds 303 sentences, grouped into 61 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 27 holds 303 sentences of The Perfect World, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The Perfect World by Ella M. Scrymsour exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 303 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 27 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 Perfect World by Ella M. Scrymsour on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6985 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61028 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61028, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 582 minutes of reading across 1397 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Perfect World section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Perfect World 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 Perfect World, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
