Chapter 15 of The pit is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The pit is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice. She bent her head slowly, without replying. Then for a long moment neither spoke. Laura played with her rings. The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
Chapter 15 of The pit is here in full — 408 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.
a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
From this reading “The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.”
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading “She bent her head slowly, without replying.”
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading “The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.”
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading “The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.”
(of games) engaged in
From this reading “Laura played with her rings.”
-ing form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “She bent her head slowly, without replying.”
gymnastic apparatus consisting of a pair of heavy metal circles (usually covered with leather) suspended by ropes; used for gymnastic exercises
From this reading “Laura played with her rings.”
not clearly expressed or understood
From this reading “The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.”
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 "Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading She bent her head slowly, without replying.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Then for a long moment neither spoke.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She bent her head slowly, without replying.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She bent her head slowly, without replying.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Laura played with her rings.
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Then for a long moment neither spoke.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading "Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice.
a particular point in time
From this reading Then for a long moment neither spoke.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading Then for a long moment neither spoke.
(of games) engaged in
From this reading Laura played with her rings.
-ing form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading She bent her head slowly, without replying.
gymnastic apparatus consisting of a pair of heavy metal circles (usually covered with leather) suspended by ropes; used for gymnastic exercises
From this reading Laura played with her rings.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She bent her head slowly, without replying.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading She bent her head slowly, without replying.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Then for a long moment neither spoke.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then for a long moment neither spoke.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice.
not clearly expressed or understood
From this reading The artist, leaning forward in his chair, looked with vague eyes across the room.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Laura played with her rings.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading She bent her head slowly, without replying.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Don't you think so?" he asked, in a low voice.
Chapter 15 of The pit by Frank Norris holds 408 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 15 holds 408 sentences of The pit, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The pit by Frank Norris exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 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 15 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 pit by Frank Norris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8642 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4382 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4382, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1729 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The pit section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The pit 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 pit, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
