Chapter 36 of Vision House is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter 36 of Vision House is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff. The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price. Only the short preliminary round had been played. The game proper was all before him. He'd tested Marise to begin with.
Chapter 36 of Vision House is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
a high steep bank (usually formed by river erosion)
From this reading “STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.”
-ing form of “discuss” — to consider or examine in speech or writing
From this reading “The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.”
a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
From this reading “The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.”
plural of “mum” — of China
From this reading “The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.”
denoting an action or event preceding or in preparation for something more important
From this reading “Only the short preliminary round had been played.”
a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions)
From this reading “STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.”
-ing form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading “STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.”
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading “He'd tested Marise to begin with.”
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 “STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.”
In this reading “STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.”
In this reading “He'd tested Marise to begin with.”
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 STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
later than; following
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
(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 STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Only the short preliminary round had been played.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The game proper was all before him.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading He'd tested Marise to begin with.
a high steep bank (usually formed by river erosion)
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
of surpassing excellence
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
-ing form of “discuss” — to consider or examine in speech or writing
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
an act that fails
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading The game proper was all before him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
only a very short time before
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The game proper was all before him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He'd tested Marise to begin with.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
plural of “mum” — of China
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
and nothing more
From this reading Only the short preliminary round had been played.
have the will and intention to carry out some action
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
(of games) engaged in
From this reading Only the short preliminary round had been played.
denoting an action or event preceding or in preparation for something more important
From this reading Only the short preliminary round had been played.
keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
marked by suitability or rightness or appropriateness
From this reading The game proper was all before him.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Only the short preliminary round had been played.
a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions)
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading Only the short preliminary round had been played.
-ing form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
a sudden outburst of anger
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading He'd tested Marise to begin with.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading STUMBLING IN THE DARK After all, Severance had hardly expected a more brilliant result from his bluff.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
at the time that
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The one real failure was in losing his temper, which, when discussing his plan with Mums, he'd meant to preserve like a jewel of price.
Chapter 36 of Vision House by C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson holds 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 140 sentences of Vision House, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 36 of Vision House by C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 Vision House by C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6137 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34919 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34919, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 511 minutes of reading across 1228 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Vision House section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Vision House 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 Vision House, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
