Chapter 10 of Pole Baker: A Novel is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Pole Baker: A Novel is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters. He opened the one on the top. How strange! The handwriting was not unlike his own. But that was too trivial to marvel over.
Chapter 10 of Pole Baker: A Novel is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
the first light of day
From this reading “For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.”
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading “For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.”
something written by hand
From this reading “The handwriting was not unlike his own.”
be amazed at
From this reading “But that was too trivial to marvel over.”
English admiral who defeated the French fleets of Napoleon but was mortally wounded at Trafalgar (1758-1805)
From this reading “For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.”
(informal) small and of little importance
From this reading “But that was too trivial to marvel over.”
marked by dissimilarity
From this reading “The handwriting was not unlike his own.”
lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
From this reading “For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.”
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 “For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.”
temporarily
In this reading “For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.”
In this reading “But that was too trivial to marvel over.”
In this reading “He opened the one on the top.”
In this reading “For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.”
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 For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But that was too trivial to marvel over.
an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
the first light of day
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
something written by hand
From this reading The handwriting was not unlike his own.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The handwriting was not unlike his own.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How strange!
moving to the inside of something
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
the literary culture
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
be amazed at
From this reading But that was too trivial to marvel over.
a particular point in time
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
English admiral who defeated the French fleets of Napoleon but was mortally wounded at Trafalgar (1758-1805)
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The handwriting was not unlike his own.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He opened the one on the top.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He opened the one on the top.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading He opened the one on the top.
above and across; more than
From this reading But that was too trivial to marvel over.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading The handwriting was not unlike his own.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading How strange!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But that was too trivial to marvel over.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But that was too trivial to marvel over.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading But that was too trivial to marvel over.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
the upper part of anything
From this reading He opened the one on the top.
(informal) small and of little importance
From this reading But that was too trivial to marvel over.
marked by dissimilarity
From this reading The handwriting was not unlike his own.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The handwriting was not unlike his own.
in the company of; together with
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
From this reading For a moment Nelson stared up into the withered face above him, and then, with a groan of dawning conviction, he took the letters.
Chapter 10 of Pole Baker: A Novel by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 10 holds 407 sentences of Pole Baker: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Pole Baker: A Novel by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 10 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 Pole Baker: A Novel by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6097 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51918 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51918, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 508 minutes of reading across 1220 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Pole Baker: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Pole Baker: A Novel 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 Pole Baker: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
