Chapter 38 of Hard Pressed is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of Hard Pressed is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CAUGHT! Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him. Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this. He had gone there in his most truculent mood. Everything seemed to be prospering with him.
Chapter 38 of Hard Pressed is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
expected hopefully
From this reading “Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.”
American painter who did portraits of Paul Revere and John Hancock before fleeing to England to avoid the American Revolution (1738-1815)
From this reading “Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.”
act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining
From this reading “Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.”
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.”
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading “He had gone there in his most truculent mood.”
a unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a troy pound
From this reading “Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.”
very lively and profitable
From this reading “Everything seemed to be prospering with him.”
defiantly aggressive
From this reading “He had gone there in his most truculent mood.”
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.
move away from a place into another direction
In this reading “Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.”
temporarily
In this reading “Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.”
eliminate
In this reading “Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.”
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 Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.
expected hopefully
From this reading Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Everything seemed to be prospering with him.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading CAUGHT!
American painter who did portraits of Paul Revere and John Hancock before fleeing to England to avoid the American Revolution (1738-1815)
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining
From this reading Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Everything seemed to be prospering with him.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
destroyed or killed
From this reading He had gone there in his most truculent mood.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had gone there in his most truculent mood.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He had gone there in his most truculent mood.
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.
a particular point in time
From this reading Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading He had gone there in his most truculent mood.
used to form the superlative
From this reading He had gone there in his most truculent mood.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
a unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a troy pound
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
very lively and profitable
From this reading Everything seemed to be prospering with him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Everything seemed to be prospering with him.
in or at that place or location
From this reading He had gone there in his most truculent mood.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Never for a moment had he anticipated a development like this.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Everything seemed to be prospering with him.
defiantly aggressive
From this reading He had gone there in his most truculent mood.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Raymond Copley went away from Haredale Park with every ounce of fight knocked out of him.
Chapter 38 of Hard Pressed by Fred M. (Fred Merrick) White holds 125 sentences, grouped into 25 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 38 holds 125 sentences of Hard Pressed, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of Hard Pressed by Fred M. (Fred Merrick) White exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 125 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 38 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 Hard Pressed by Fred M. (Fred Merrick) White on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5056 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33512 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33512, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 421 minutes of reading across 1012 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hard Pressed section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Hard Pressed 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 Hard Pressed, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
