Chapter 27 of The shears of destiny is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The shears of destiny is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken. “Ring the bell, Ivan,” Drexel ordered. Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges. A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat. “Who’s there?” he demanded.
Chapter 27 of The shears of destiny is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/58 · 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.
past form of “creak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading “Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.”
turned into ice; affected by freezing or by long and severe cold
From this reading “Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.”
United States computer entrepreneur whose software company made him the youngest multi-billionaire in the history of the United States (born in 1955)
From this reading “Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.”
plural of “hinge” — a joint that holds two parts together so that one can swing relative to the other
From this reading “Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.”
plural of “jaw” — the part of the skull of a vertebrate that frames the mouth and holds the teeth
From this reading “THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.”
the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
From this reading “THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.”
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading “A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.”
tanned skin of a sheep with the fleece left on; used for clothing
From this reading “A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.”
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 ““Ring the bell, Ivan,” Drexel ordered.”
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 A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.
have
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “Ring the bell, Ivan,” Drexel ordered.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.
an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
past form of “creak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “Who’s there?” he demanded.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ring the bell, Ivan,” Drexel ordered.
turned into ice; affected by freezing or by long and severe cold
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
United States computer entrepreneur whose software company made him the youngest multi-billionaire in the history of the United States (born in 1955)
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Who’s there?” he demanded.
plural of “hinge” — a joint that holds two parts together so that one can swing relative to the other
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ring the bell, Ivan,” Drexel ordered.
plural of “jaw” — the part of the skull of a vertebrate that frames the mouth and holds the teeth
From this reading THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
From this reading THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading “Ring the bell, Ivan,” Drexel ordered.
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “Ring the bell, Ivan,” Drexel ordered.
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
tanned skin of a sheep with the fleece left on; used for clothing
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading A sentry appeared, looking more a bear than a man in his huge sheepskin coat.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “Who’s there?” he demanded.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE JAWS OF DEATH But the odds had to be taken.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Ivan did so, and the gates slowly creaked open upon their frozen hinges.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Who’s there?” he demanded.
Chapter 27 of The shears of destiny by Leroy Scott holds 294 sentences, grouped into 59 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 294 sentences of The shears of destiny, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The shears of destiny by Leroy Scott exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 294 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 shears of destiny by Leroy Scott 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 shears of destiny section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The shears of destiny 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 shears of destiny, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
