Chapter 10 of The Thread of Flame 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 X
Chapter 10 of The Thread of Flame is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But it was not mine. It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations. Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero. He was a hero, while I ... It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
Chapter 10 of The Thread of Flame 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 high steep bank (usually formed by river erosion)
From this reading “Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.”
plural of “decoration” — something used to beautify
From this reading “It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.”
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading “Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.”
euphemisms for “fat”
From this reading “Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.”
past form of “reveal” — make visible
From this reading “Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.”
the part of a garment that is attached at the armhole and that provides a cloth covering for the arm
From this reading “Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.”
always the same; showing a single form or character in all occurrences
From this reading “It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.”
(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
From this reading “It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.”
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.
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 It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
a high steep bank (usually formed by river erosion)
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
the people of Great Britain
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But it was not mine.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
plural of “decoration” — something used to beautify
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
the act of giving
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading He was a hero, while I ...
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But it was not mine.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading But it was not mine.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But it was not mine.
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
and nothing more
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
euphemisms for “fat”
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
past form of “reveal” — make visible
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
the part of a garment that is attached at the armhole and that provides a cloth covering for the arm
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
express in words
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
always the same; showing a single form or character in all occurrences
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It occurred to me that death was not the only means of giving Vio her freedom, and that I ought to tell her so.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But it was not mine.
(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
From this reading It was that of a colonel in an American uniform, wearing British and French decorations.
during the time that
From this reading He was a hero, while I ...
in the company of; together with
From this reading Big, portly, handsome, bluff, with an empty left sleeve, he revealed himself as a hero.
Chapter 10 of The Thread of Flame by Basil King holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 10 holds 408 sentences of The Thread of Flame, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Thread of Flame by Basil King exactly as it stands in the 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 10 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 Thread of Flame by Basil King on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5316 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45898 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45898, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 443 minutes of reading across 1064 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Thread of Flame section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Thread of Flame 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 Thread of Flame, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
