Chapter 14 of Toying with fate is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Toying with fate is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BLACKMAIL. The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet. It did not take him long to reach the Studio Building. “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.” The detective was amused.
Chapter 14 of Toying with fate is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading “The detective was amused.”
exert pressure on someone through threats
From this reading “BLACKMAIL.”
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading ““He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.””
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading ““He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.””
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “The detective was amused.”
a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading ““He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.””
workplace for the teaching or practice of an art
From this reading “It did not take him long to reach the Studio Building.”
having tracks
From this reading ““He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.””
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 ““He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.””
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 “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading The detective was amused.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
exert pressure on someone through threats
From this reading BLACKMAIL.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading It did not take him long to reach the Studio Building.
someone who drives a taxi for a living
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
Englishman and Egyptologist who in 1922 discovered and excavated the tomb of Tutankhamen (1873-1939)
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading The detective was amused.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It did not take him long to reach the Studio Building.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It did not take him long to reach the Studio Building.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading It did not take him long to reach the Studio Building.
engage in
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading It did not take him long to reach the Studio Building.
workplace for the teaching or practice of an art
From this reading It did not take him long to reach the Studio Building.
carry out
From this reading It did not take him long to reach the Studio Building.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
having tracks
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading The cabman did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
the act of using
From this reading “He’s a rascal,” Carter commented, as he tracked the cabman; “I can make use of him.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The detective was amused.
Chapter 14 of Toying with fate by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 247 sentences, grouped into 50 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 14 holds 247 sentences of Toying with fate, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Toying with fate by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 247 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 14 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 Toying with fate by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Toying with fate section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Toying with fate 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 Toying with fate, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
