Chapter 10 of The World Set Free is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The World Set Free is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘But, sir,’ protested Firmin. ‘This man Leblanc is right. The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible. You know that, and my duty is to make that easy. A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
Chapter 10 of The World Set Free is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
plural of “back” — the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
From this reading “A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.”
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading “You know that, and my duty is to make that easy.”
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “You know that, and my duty is to make that easy.”
impossible of undergoing division
From this reading “The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.”
take somebody somewhere
From this reading “A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.”
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading “‘But, sir,’ protested Firmin.”
a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
From this reading “The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.”
put, fix, force, or implant
From this reading “A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.”
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 The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
plural of “back” — the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading ‘But, sir,’ protested Firmin.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading You know that, and my duty is to make that easy.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading You know that, and my duty is to make that easy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘But, sir,’ protested Firmin.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
impossible of undergoing division
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘This man Leblanc is right.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know that, and my duty is to make that easy.
take somebody somewhere
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘This man Leblanc is right.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
engage in
From this reading You know that, and my duty is to make that easy.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading ‘This man Leblanc is right.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You know that, and my duty is to make that easy.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading ‘But, sir,’ protested Firmin.
a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
precisely, exactly
From this reading ‘This man Leblanc is right.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
term of address for a man
From this reading ‘But, sir,’ protested Firmin.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
put, fix, force, or implant
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You know that, and my duty is to make that easy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading ‘This man Leblanc is right.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading A king should lead his people; you want me to stick on their backs like some Old Man of the Sea.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading The whole world has got to be a Republic, one and indivisible.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You know that, and my duty is to make that easy.
Chapter 10 of The World Set Free by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells holds 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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.
Chapter 10 holds 161 sentences of The World Set Free, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The World Set Free by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 World Set Free by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3157 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1059 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1059, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 263 minutes of reading across 632 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The World Set Free section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The World Set Free 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 World Set Free, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
