Chapter 9 of A Town Is Drowning is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of A Town Is Drowning is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He had better start thinking about his lists. * * * * * The five walked into the motor pool. Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been. She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it? Into the street?"
Chapter 9 of A Town Is Drowning is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading “Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.”
make a sudden movement in a new direction so as to avoid
From this reading “Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.”
make void or empty of contents
From this reading “Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.”
with hope; in a hopeful manner
From this reading “She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it?”
plural of “list” — a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics)
From this reading “He had better start thinking about his lists.”
machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading “* * * * * The five walked into the motor pool.”
an excavation that is (usually) filled with water
From this reading “* * * * * The five walked into the motor pool.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.”
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 “Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.”
In this reading “Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.”
In this reading “Into the street?"”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He had better start thinking about his lists.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading He had better start thinking about his lists.
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it?
make a sudden movement in a new direction so as to avoid
From this reading Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading * * * * * The five walked into the motor pool.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had better start thinking about his lists.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had better start thinking about his lists.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had better start thinking about his lists.
with hope; in a hopeful manner
From this reading She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it?
moving to the inside of something
From this reading * * * * * The five walked into the motor pool.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it?
plural of “list” — a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics)
From this reading He had better start thinking about his lists.
machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading * * * * * The five walked into the motor pool.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it?
a form of address for a man
From this reading She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it?
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.
an excavation that is (usually) filled with water
From this reading * * * * * The five walked into the motor pool.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it?
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading He had better start thinking about his lists.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Into the street?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading * * * * * The five walked into the motor pool.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading He had better start thinking about his lists.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it?
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading * * * * * The five walked into the motor pool.
in or at the place that
From this reading Mrs. Goudeket stared blankly at the empty space where the Dodge had been.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading She said to Mr. Cioni hopefully, "You moved it?
Chapter 9 of A Town Is Drowning by Frederik Pohl holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 432 sentences of A Town Is Drowning, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of A Town Is Drowning by Frederik Pohl exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 A Town Is Drowning by Frederik Pohl on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3893 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66768 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66768, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 324 minutes of reading across 779 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Town Is Drowning section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of A Town Is Drowning 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 A Town Is Drowning, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
