Chapter 9 of Through deserts and oases of central Asia is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Through deserts and oases of central Asia is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love! Alas, my inconstant Heaven! I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee. Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion. Thy breasts are as a newly plucked apple.
Chapter 9 of Through deserts and oases of central Asia is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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.
provided with something intended to increase its beauty or distinction
From this reading “Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.”
especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole
From this reading “I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.”
plural of “breast” — the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading “Thy breasts are as a newly plucked apple.”
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading “Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.”
an intense desire for some particular thing
From this reading “I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.”
very recently
From this reading “Thy breasts are as a newly plucked apple.”
of a stringed instrument; sounded with the fingers or a plectrum
From this reading “Thy breasts are as a newly plucked apple.”
not true to duty or obligation or promises
From this reading “THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!”
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 “Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.”
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 ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
provided with something intended to increase its beauty or distinction
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh
From this reading Thy breasts are as a newly plucked apple.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
plural of “breast” — the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading Thy breasts are as a newly plucked apple.
(superlative of “near” or “close”) within the shortest distance
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
an intense desire for some particular thing
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
coins made of gold
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading Alas, my inconstant Heaven!
relating to or inhabiting a divine heaven
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
likely to change frequently often without apparent or cogent reason; variable
From this reading Alas, my inconstant Heaven!
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
very recently
From this reading Thy breasts are as a newly plucked apple.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
of a stringed instrument; sounded with the fingers or a plectrum
From this reading Thy breasts are as a newly plucked apple.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
a short musical composition with words
From this reading THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading I am become thin as a blade of grass from craving for thee.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
not true to duty or obligation or promises
From this reading THE ARYANS OF SARIKOL A SARIKOLI LOVE SONG Alas, my unfaithful Love!
belonging to which person
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Oh, thou heavenly Beauty Whose ears are adorned with gold, Would that I might become thy closest companion.
Chapter 9 of Through deserts and oases of central Asia by Ella Sykes holds 253 sentences, grouped into 51 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 9 holds 253 sentences of Through deserts and oases of central Asia, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Through deserts and oases of central Asia by Ella Sykes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 253 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 9 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 Through deserts and oases of central Asia by Ella Sykes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3010 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72916 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72916, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 250 minutes of reading across 602 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Through deserts and oases of central Asia section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Through deserts and oases of central Asia 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 Through deserts and oases of central Asia, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
