Chapter 9 of Desperate Remedies is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Desperate Remedies is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment. ‘Yes--I think I was--once,’ she murmured. ‘Aha! And were you ever kissed by a man?’ A pause.
Chapter 9 of Desperate Remedies is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
changed in form or character without becoming something else
From this reading “Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.”
goddess of love and beauty and daughter of Zeus in ancient mythology; identified with Roman Venus
From this reading “Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.”
a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized
From this reading “Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.”
the roughness of a substance that causes abrasions
From this reading “Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “And were you ever kissed by a man?’”
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading “‘Yes--I think I was--once,’ she murmured.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “A pause.”
a tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
From this reading “Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.”
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 And were you ever kissed by a man?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Aha!
changed in form or character without becoming something else
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading And were you ever kissed by a man?’
goddess of love and beauty and daughter of Zeus in ancient mythology; identified with Roman Venus
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
at any time
From this reading And were you ever kissed by a man?’
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
the roughness of a substance that causes abrasions
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘Yes--I think I was--once,’ she murmured.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading And were you ever kissed by a man?’
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading And were you ever kissed by a man?’
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading ‘Yes--I think I was--once,’ she murmured.
on one occasion
From this reading ‘Yes--I think I was--once,’ she murmured.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading A pause.
with speed
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘Yes--I think I was--once,’ she murmured.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
a tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading ‘Yes--I think I was--once,’ she murmured.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Cytherea was surprised to hear how quickly the voice had altered from tenderness to harshness, vexation, and disappointment.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading And were you ever kissed by a man?’
an affirmative
From this reading ‘Yes--I think I was--once,’ she murmured.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And were you ever kissed by a man?’
Chapter 9 of Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy holds 198 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 198 sentences of Desperate Remedies, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7979 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3044 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3044, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1596 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Desperate Remedies section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Desperate Remedies 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 Desperate Remedies, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
