Chapter 39 of Ralph the Heir is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of Ralph the Heir is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
RALPH NEWTON IS BOWLED AWAY. A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult. But he wrote it. The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it. ---- Club, June 2, 186--.
Chapter 39 of Ralph the Heir is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
past form of “bowl” — roll (a ball)
From this reading “RALPH NEWTON IS BOWLED AWAY.”
a team of professional baseball players who play and travel together
From this reading “---- Club, June 2, 186--.”
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading “A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.”
past form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading “The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.”
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading “---- Club, June 2, 186--.”
English mathematician and physicist; remembered for developing the calculus and for his law of gravitation and his three laws of motion (1642-1727)
From this reading “RALPH NEWTON IS BOWLED AWAY.”
-ing form of “postpone” — hold back to a later time
From this reading “The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.”
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading “A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ---- Club, June 2, 186--.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ---- Club, June 2, 186--.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
later than; following
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading RALPH NEWTON IS BOWLED AWAY.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.
past form of “bowl” — roll (a ball)
From this reading RALPH NEWTON IS BOWLED AWAY.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he wrote it.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
a team of professional baseball players who play and travel together
From this reading ---- Club, June 2, 186--.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
set up or found
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
past form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But he wrote it.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading RALPH NEWTON IS BOWLED AWAY.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But he wrote it.
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading ---- Club, June 2, 186--.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
a particular point in time
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
English mathematician and physicist; remembered for developing the calculus and for his law of gravitation and his three laws of motion (1642-1727)
From this reading RALPH NEWTON IS BOWLED AWAY.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
-ing form of “postpone” — hold back to a later time
From this reading The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading RALPH NEWTON IS BOWLED AWAY.
term of address for a man
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
in or at that place or location
From this reading The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.
a special situation
From this reading The thing had to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by postponing it.
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
at the time that
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
produce a literary work
From this reading A day or two after his engagement, Ralph did write his letter to Sir Thomas, and found when the moment came that the task was difficult.
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading But he wrote it.
Chapter 39 of Ralph the Heir by Anthony Trollope holds 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 39 holds 398 sentences of Ralph the Heir, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of Ralph the Heir by Anthony Trollope exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 39 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 Ralph the Heir by Anthony Trollope on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12226 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25579 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25579, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2446 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ralph the Heir section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Ralph the Heir 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 Ralph the Heir, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
