Chapter 9 of David Harum A Story of American Life is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of David Harum A Story of American Life is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared. He opened the paper and sat down to wait. Ten minutes passed, fifteen, twenty. He rang the bell. "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
Chapter 9 of David Harum A Story of American Life is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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 hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “He rang the bell.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading “Ten minutes passed, fifteen, twenty.”
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading “He opened the paper and sat down to wait.”
acting or arriving or performed exactly at the time appointed
From this reading “When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “He rang the bell.”
the cognitive processes whereby past experience is remembered
From this reading “"Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.”
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading “When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading “Ten minutes passed, fifteen, twenty.”
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 When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He opened the paper and sat down to wait.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading He rang the bell.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading Ten minutes passed, fifteen, twenty.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He opened the paper and sat down to wait.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
the force of workers available
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading Ten minutes passed, fifteen, twenty.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
used to form the superlative
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading He opened the paper and sat down to wait.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading He opened the paper and sat down to wait.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Ten minutes passed, fifteen, twenty.
acting or arriving or performed exactly at the time appointed
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading He rang the bell.
the cognitive processes whereby past experience is remembered
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He opened the paper and sat down to wait.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading Ten minutes passed, fifteen, twenty.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He opened the paper and sat down to wait.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading Ten minutes passed, fifteen, twenty.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading He opened the paper and sat down to wait.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
at the time that
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
which person or people
From this reading When John came down the next morning his father, who was, as a rule, the most punctual of men, had not appeared.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Have you heard my father this morning?" he said to Jeffrey, remembering for the first time that he himself had not.
Chapter 9 of David Harum A Story of American Life by Edward Noyes Westcott holds 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 100 sentences of David Harum A Story of American Life, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of David Harum A Story of American Life by Edward Noyes Westcott exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 David Harum A Story of American Life by Edward Noyes Westcott on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5119 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17617 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17617, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 426 minutes of reading across 1024 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through David Harum A Story of American Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of David Harum A Story of American Life 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 David Harum A Story of American Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
