Chapter 7 of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher 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 VII
Chapter 7 of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail. "What was it?" Ralph heard one of his late assailants ask. "A hand car," was the prompt reply. "She must have struck somebody.
Chapter 7 of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher 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.
plural of “assailant” — someone who attacks
From this reading “Ralph heard one of his late assailants ask.”
scraped or touched lightly in passing
From this reading “DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.”
in a narrow manner; not allowing for exceptions
From this reading “DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.”
give an incentive for action
From this reading “"A hand car," was the prompt reply.”
plural of “signal” — any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading “DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.”
unclearness by virtue of being poorly expressed or not coherent in meaning
From this reading “DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.”
plural of “wheel” — a simple machine consisting of a circular frame with spokes (or a solid disc) that can rotate on a shaft or axle (as in vehicles or other machines)
From this reading “DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.”
the act of rotating in a circle or spiral
From this reading “DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.”
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 “DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.”
In this reading “DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.”
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 "A hand car," was the prompt reply.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Ralph heard one of his late assailants ask.
plural of “assailant” — someone who attacks
From this reading Ralph heard one of his late assailants ask.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading "A hand car," was the prompt reply.
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
destroyed or killed
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
scraped or touched lightly in passing
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading "A hand car," was the prompt reply.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "She must have struck somebody.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Ralph heard one of his late assailants ask.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ralph heard one of his late assailants ask.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "What was it?"
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading Ralph heard one of his late assailants ask.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "She must have struck somebody.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
in a narrow manner; not allowing for exceptions
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Ralph heard one of his late assailants ask.
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
give an incentive for action
From this reading "A hand car," was the prompt reply.
an employee of a railroad
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ralph heard one of his late assailants ask.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading "A hand car," was the prompt reply.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "She must have struck somebody.
plural of “signal” — any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
a person, without saying who
From this reading "She must have struck somebody.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading "She must have struck somebody.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
unclearness by virtue of being poorly expressed or not coherent in meaning
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What was it?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What was it?"
plural of “wheel” — a simple machine consisting of a circular frame with spokes (or a solid disc) that can rotate on a shaft or axle (as in vehicles or other machines)
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
the act of rotating in a circle or spiral
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
in the company of; together with
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading DANGER SIGNALS The danger seemed gone, with the passage of the whirling object on wheels that had so narrowly grazed the young railroader, but mystery and vagueness remained in its trail.
Chapter 7 of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher by Allen Chapman 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 7 holds 125 sentences of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher by Allen Chapman 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 7 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 Train Dispatcher by Allen Chapman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3993 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38969 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38969, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 332 minutes of reading across 799 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Choose one of the 32 chapters of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher 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 Train Dispatcher, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
