Chapter 20 of The poisoned paradise is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The poisoned paradise is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him. Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish. “I’ve told you too much,” he snarled. He covered Hugh with his revolver. “You dog!
Chapter 20 of The poisoned paradise is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 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.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.”
(followed by “of”) lacking capacity or ability
From this reading “Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.”
freed from illness or injury
From this reading “Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.”
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading “He covered Hugh with his revolver.”
tangled in knots or snarls
From this reading ““I’ve told you too much,” he snarled.”
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading “Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.”
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading “Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.”
impaired by diminution
From this reading “Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.”
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 “Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.”
In this reading “Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.”
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.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading He covered Hugh with his revolver.
a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading “You dog!
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He covered Hugh with his revolver.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’ve told you too much,” he snarled.
(followed by “of”) lacking capacity or ability
From this reading Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “I’ve told you too much,” he snarled.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.
with speed
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
freed from illness or injury
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading He covered Hugh with his revolver.
tangled in knots or snarls
From this reading “I’ve told you too much,” he snarled.
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Aghast, incapable of action, Hugh stood staring at him.
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
resembling a tiger in fierceness and lack of mercy
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “I’ve told you too much,” he snarled.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading “I’ve told you too much,” he snarled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
impaired by diminution
From this reading Then as quickly as he had weakened Vulning recovered himself, and started forward, tense, tigerish.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He covered Hugh with his revolver.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I’ve told you too much,” he snarled.
Chapter 20 of The poisoned paradise by Robert W. (Robert William) Service holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 20 holds 405 sentences of The poisoned paradise, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The poisoned paradise by Robert W. (Robert William) Service exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 20 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 poisoned paradise by Robert W. (Robert William) Service on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The poisoned paradise section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The poisoned paradise 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 poisoned paradise, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
