Chapter 6 of Kenneth McAlpine is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Kenneth McAlpine is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up. "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward. "And keep to your legs, doctor, keep to your legs." There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes. It was a solemn time.
Chapter 6 of Kenneth McAlpine is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
eagerly desirous
From this reading “There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.”
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading “"Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.”
the act of acquiring something
From this reading “"Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.”
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading “"Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.”
staying power
From this reading “"And keep to your legs, doctor, keep to your legs."”
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading “It was a solemn time.”
so surprisingly impressive as to stun or overwhelm
From this reading “"Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.”
a physician who specializes in surgery
From this reading “"Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.”
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 “There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.”
In this reading “"Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.”
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 "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And keep to your legs, doctor, keep to your legs."
eagerly desirous
From this reading There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading "Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a solemn time.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "And keep to your legs, doctor, keep to your legs."
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
staying power
From this reading "And keep to your legs, doctor, keep to your legs."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading It was a solemn time.
so surprisingly impressive as to stun or overwhelm
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
a physician who specializes in surgery
From this reading "Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It was a solemn time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "And keep to your legs, doctor, keep to your legs."
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was silence now around the table for many long anxious minutes.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, here's for off," said the surgeon, getting up.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Do your duty like a man," cried the captain, laughing, as the doctor went staggering forward.
Chapter 6 of Kenneth McAlpine by Gordon Stables holds 436 sentences, grouped into 88 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 6 holds 436 sentences of Kenneth McAlpine, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Kenneth McAlpine by Gordon Stables exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 436 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 6 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 Kenneth McAlpine by Gordon Stables on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3482 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38199 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38199, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 290 minutes of reading across 697 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Kenneth McAlpine section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Kenneth McAlpine 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 Kenneth McAlpine, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
