Chapter 32 of Those barren leaves is here in full — 121 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXII
Chapter 32 of Those barren leaves is here in full — 121 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The funeral was not due to take place before sunset. The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes. They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people. Let the dead bury their dead. The living were there to make wine.
Chapter 32 of Those barren leaves is here in full — 121 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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 “bearer” — someone whose employment involves carrying something
From this reading “The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.”
cover from sight
From this reading “They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.”
a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated
From this reading “The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.”
plural of “grape” — any of various juicy fruit of the genus Vitis with green or purple skins; grow in clusters
From this reading “The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.”
past form of “last” — persist for a specified period of time
From this reading “They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.”
the quantity of a crop that is harvested
From this reading “The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.”
United States poet (1928-1974)
From this reading “The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.”
the time in the evening at which the sun begins to fall below the horizon
From this reading “The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.”
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 “The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.”
In this reading “The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.”
come to pass
In this reading “The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.”
In this reading “The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.”
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 The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
plural of “bearer” — someone whose employment involves carrying something
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.
cover from sight
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Let the dead bury their dead.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
owed and payable immediately or on demand
From this reading The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated
From this reading The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.
plural of “grape” — any of various juicy fruit of the genus Vitis with green or purple skins; grow in clusters
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
of great significance or value
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
past form of “last” — persist for a specified period of time
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Let the dead bury their dead.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading The living were there to make wine.
engage in
From this reading The living were there to make wine.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
used to form the superlative
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
the quantity of a crop that is harvested
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.
a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
United States poet (1928-1974)
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
the time in the evening at which the sun begins to fall below the horizon
From this reading The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.
carry out
From this reading The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Let the dead bury their dead.
in or at that place or location
From this reading The living were there to make wine.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The funeral was not due to take place before sunset.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The bearers, the choristers, the sexton, the priest himself, most likely, were all in the fields, picking the grapes.
during the time that
From this reading They had something more important to do, while the light lasted, than to bury people.
fermented juice (of grapes especially)
From this reading The living were there to make wine.
Chapter 32 of Those barren leaves by Aldous Huxley holds 121 sentences, grouped into 25 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 32 holds 121 sentences of Those barren leaves, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 32 of Those barren leaves by Aldous Huxley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 121 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 32 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 Those barren leaves by Aldous Huxley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7921 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #74437 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #74437, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1585 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Those barren leaves section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of Those barren leaves 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 Those barren leaves, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
