Chapter 14 of The Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler. She fled into the arms of Amut. She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted. "O, dash it all, dash it all--that man--that man--that _terrible_ man! Save--save me!
Chapter 14 of The Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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 manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading “Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.”
inflected form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading “She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.”
run or move very quickly or hastily
From this reading “"O, dash it all, dash it all--that man--that man--that _terrible_ man!”
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading “She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.”
past form of “flounder” — walk with great difficulty
From this reading “Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.”
like a girl
From this reading “She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.”
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading “Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.”
the leader of an Arab village or family
From this reading “Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.”
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 “Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.”
In this reading “She fled into the arms of Amut.”
In this reading “She fled into the arms of Amut.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "O, dash it all, dash it all--that man--that man--that _terrible_ man!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading She fled into the arms of Amut.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
inflected form of “cling” — come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.
run or move very quickly or hastily
From this reading "O, dash it all, dash it all--that man--that man--that _terrible_ man!
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.
inflected form of “flee” — run away quickly
From this reading She fled into the arms of Amut.
past form of “flounder” — walk with great difficulty
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
like a girl
From this reading She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "O, dash it all, dash it all--that man--that man--that _terrible_ man!
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "O, dash it all, dash it all--that man--that man--that _terrible_ man!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Save--save me!
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading "O, dash it all, dash it all--that man--that man--that _terrible_ man!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
except for; apart from
From this reading Save--save me!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She fled into the arms of Amut.
the leader of an Arab village or family
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.
a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading "O, dash it all, dash it all--that man--that man--that _terrible_ man!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "O, dash it all, dash it all--that man--that man--that _terrible_ man!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
in or at that place or location
From this reading She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.
a shaky motion
From this reading She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She clung there girlishly trembling, so tired she was exhausted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
appearing extremely agitated
From this reading Verbeena floundered wild-eyed, wide-mouthed, panting into the tent of the Sheik Amut Ben Butler.
Chapter 14 of The Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque by Charles Somerville holds 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 14 holds 100 sentences of The Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque by Charles Somerville exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 14 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 Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque by Charles Somerville on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1753 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40934 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40934, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 146 minutes of reading across 351 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque 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 Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
