Chapter 36 of Toilers of Babylon: A Novel is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter 36 of Toilers of Babylon: A Novel is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The wretched girl did not come alone. A woman dragged her forward. "Here you are, Mr. Parkinson," said the woman. "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night." "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
Chapter 36 of Toilers of Babylon: A Novel is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
the organic process of bearing flowers
From this reading “"Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."”
the act of leaving secretly or without explanation
From this reading “"Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."”
inflected form of “drag” — pull, as against a resistance
From this reading “A woman dragged her forward.”
possessive form of “mary” — the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading “"Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."”
English surgeon (1755-1824)
From this reading “"Here you are, Mr. Parkinson," said the woman.”
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading “"I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.”
destroyed physically or morally
From this reading “"I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.”
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading “The wretched girl did not come alone.”
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 “"Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."”
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 A woman dragged her forward.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."
Having no one else present.
From this reading The wretched girl did not come alone.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Here you are, Mr. Parkinson," said the woman.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."
the organic process of bearing flowers
From this reading "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The wretched girl did not come alone.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading The wretched girl did not come alone.
the act of leaving secretly or without explanation
From this reading "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."
inflected form of “drag” — pull, as against a resistance
From this reading A woman dragged her forward.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading A woman dragged her forward.
a young female
From this reading The wretched girl did not come alone.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A woman dragged her forward.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Here you are, Mr. Parkinson," said the woman.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
immediately past
From this reading "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."
attach a tag or label to
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
possessive form of “mary” — the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Here you are, Mr. Parkinson," said the woman.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The wretched girl did not come alone.
English surgeon (1755-1824)
From this reading "Here you are, Mr. Parkinson," said the woman.
accept (someone) to be what is claimed or accept his power and authority
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
destroyed physically or morally
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Here you are, Mr. Parkinson," said the woman.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."
express in words
From this reading "Blooming Bess can tell you something about Mary's disappearance last night."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The wretched girl did not come alone.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading A woman dragged her forward.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "I am ruined," thought Mark Inglefield, and hoped that Blooming Bess would not recognize him.
of very poor quality or condition
From this reading The wretched girl did not come alone.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Here you are, Mr. Parkinson," said the woman.
Chapter 36 of Toilers of Babylon: A Novel by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon holds 220 sentences, grouped into 44 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 36 holds 220 sentences of Toilers of Babylon: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 36 of Toilers of Babylon: A Novel by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 220 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 36 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 Toilers of Babylon: A Novel by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7656 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42974 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42974, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1532 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Toilers of Babylon: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Toilers of Babylon: A Novel 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 Toilers of Babylon: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
