Chapter 9 of Alf's Button is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Alf's Button is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered. "Hallo," said Donaldson. "You look worried. What's up?" "I am worried.
Chapter 9 of Alf's Button is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/65 · 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.
an army unit usually consisting of a headquarters and three or more companies
From this reading “LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.”
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading “LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.”
a short personal letter
From this reading “LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.”
the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience
From this reading “LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.”
a commissioned military officer
From this reading “LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.”
plural of “officer” — any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading “LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.”
openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
From this reading “LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.”
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading “"You look worried.”
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 “LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.”
In this reading “"You look worried.”
In this reading “LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.”
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I am worried.
an army unit usually consisting of a headquarters and three or more companies
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
a short personal letter
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hallo," said Donaldson.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I am worried.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
a commissioned military officer
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "You look worried.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
plural of “officer” — any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Hallo," said Donaldson.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading What's up?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What's up?"
at the time that
From this reading LIEUTENANT DONALDSON BECOMES SUSPICIOUS Some days later, Lieutenant Donaldson was sitting in "C" Company officers' billet, when the battalion intelligence officer entered.
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading "You look worried.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You look worried.
Chapter 9 of Alf's Button by W. A. (William Aubrey) Darlington holds 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 326 sentences of Alf's Button, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Alf's Button by W. A. (William Aubrey) Darlington exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 Alf's Button by W. A. (William Aubrey) Darlington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4980 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59775 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59775, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 415 minutes of reading across 996 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Alf's Button section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Alf's Button 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 Alf's Button, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
