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The Shadow Line: A Confession
The Shadow Line: A Confession

Chapter XIII · Chapter 13

Chapter 13 of The Shadow Line: A Confession is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Shadow Line: A Confession
Context Illustration Reading 1/44 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
You don’t know how to go about it, sir.
How could you?
All this whispering and tiptoeing is no good.
You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.
You never heard him talk.
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Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Shadow Line: A Confession

Chapter XIII · Chapter 13

Chapter 13 of The Shadow Line: A Confession is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/44 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
You don’t know how to go about it, sir.
Line 2
How could you?
Line 3
All this whispering and tiptoeing is no good.
Line 4
You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.
Line 5
You never heard him talk.

All words in this reading · 34

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

about

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “You don’t know how to go about it, sir.

All

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All this whispering and tiptoeing is no good.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All this whispering and tiptoeing is no good.

brute

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

can't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

could

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How could you?

cunning

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

don't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “You don’t know how to go about it, sir.

evil

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

go

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “You don’t know how to go about it, sir.

good

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All this whispering and tiptoeing is no good.

he

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

heard

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You never heard him talk.

him

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You never heard him talk.

hope

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

how

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “You don’t know how to go about it, sir.

is

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All this whispering and tiptoeing is no good.

it

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “You don’t know how to go about it, sir.

know

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “You don’t know how to go about it, sir.

like

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

never

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You never heard him talk.

no

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All this whispering and tiptoeing is no good.

past

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

sir

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “You don’t know how to go about it, sir.

slink

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

talk

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You never heard him talk.

this

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All this whispering and tiptoeing is no good.

tiptoeing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All this whispering and tiptoeing is no good.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “You don’t know how to go about it, sir.

was

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

whispering

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All this whispering and tiptoeing is no good.

wide-awake

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading You can’t hope to slink past a cunning, wide-awake, evil brute like he was.

You

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “You don’t know how to go about it, sir.

Chapter 13 of The Shadow Line: A Confession by Joseph Conrad holds 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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.

What does chapter 13 of The Shadow Line: A Confession contain?

Chapter 13 holds 224 sentences of The Shadow Line: A Confession, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 13 of The Shadow Line: A Confession by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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.

How do I study chapter 13 of The Shadow Line: A Confession?

Work through the 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 45 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.

Can chapter 13 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 13 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.

Questions about reading The Shadow Line: A Confession

Common questions about reading The Shadow Line: A Confession by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Shadow Line: A Confession?

Yes. All 3111 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #451 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Shadow Line: A Confession is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #451, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Shadow Line: A Confession take to read?

About 259 minutes of reading across 623 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Shadow Line: A Confession section by section

How to work through The Shadow Line: A Confession section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Shadow Line: A Confession to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Shadow Line: A Confession

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Shadow Line: A Confession, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Borys
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Shadow Line: A Confession; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Others
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Shadow Line: A Confession; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Himself
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Shadow Line: A Confession; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Crossed
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Shadow Line: A Confession; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.