Chapter 9 of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader. "Nothing to explain--it's exactly as I say. That lad's a wonder." "At telegraphing, you said." "At telegraphing, I mean."
Chapter 9 of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
(often used in combination) having a specified direction
From this reading “A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.”
the act of discovering something
From this reading “A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “"Nothing to explain--it's exactly as I say.”
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading “A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.”
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “"At telegraphing, I mean."”
openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
From this reading “A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.”
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading “That lad's a wonder."”
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading “A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.”
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.
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 SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Nothing to explain--it's exactly as I say.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "At telegraphing, you said."
(often used in combination) having a specified direction
From this reading A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.
the act of discovering something
From this reading A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading "Nothing to explain--it's exactly as I say.
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Nothing to explain--it's exactly as I say.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nothing to explain--it's exactly as I say.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That lad's a wonder."
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "At telegraphing, I mean."
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "Nothing to explain--it's exactly as I say.
an employee of a railroad
From this reading A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "At telegraphing, you said."
express in words
From this reading "Nothing to explain--it's exactly as I say.
openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
From this reading A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "At telegraphing, you said."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That lad's a wonder."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Nothing to explain--it's exactly as I say.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading That lad's a wonder."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "At telegraphing, you said."
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading A SUSPICIOUS DISCOVERY "Explain yourself, Lacey," directed the young railroader.
Chapter 9 of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher by Allen Chapman holds 132 sentences, grouped into 27 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 9 holds 132 sentences of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Ralph, the Train Dispatcher by Allen Chapman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 132 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 9 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.
How to work through Ralph, the Train Dispatcher section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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.
