Chapter 39 of Sacrifice is here in full — 28 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of Sacrifice is here in full — 28 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At daybreak they went on. With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path. Now and then he besought her to rest. She shook her head. Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers.
Chapter 39 of Sacrifice is here in full — 28 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/5 · 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 “bee” — any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading “Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers.”
a heavy, closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents)
From this reading “With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.”
the first light of day
From this reading “At daybreak they went on.”
past form of “distend” — become wider
From this reading “With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.”
pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
From this reading “With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.”
subject to guidance or control especially after launching
From this reading “With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.”
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading “With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.”
a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases
From this reading “With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.”
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 With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At daybreak they went on.
plural of “bee” — any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now and then he besought her to rest.
a glass or plastic vessel used for storing drinks or other liquids; typically cylindrical without handles and with a narrow neck that can be plugged or capped
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
of a stringed instrument; sounded by stroking with a bow
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
a heavy, closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents)
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
the first light of day
From this reading At daybreak they went on.
past form of “distend” — become wider
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers.
subject to guidance or control especially after launching
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She shook her head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now and then he besought her to rest.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading At daybreak they went on.
a course of conduct
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Now and then he besought her to rest.
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She shook her head.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading She shook her head.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Bees hummed above them in the festoons of flowers.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Now and then he besought her to rest.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At daybreak they went on.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now and then he besought her to rest.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading At daybreak they went on.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With his shoulders bowed under a distended sack and a canvas water bottle, and with his rifle at trail, he guided her feeble steps along the path.
Chapter 39 of Sacrifice by Stephen French Whitman holds 28 sentences, grouped into 6 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 28 sentences of Sacrifice, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of Sacrifice by Stephen French Whitman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 28 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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 Sacrifice by Stephen French Whitman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3767 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22928 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22928, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 313 minutes of reading across 754 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sacrifice section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Sacrifice 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 Sacrifice, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
