Chapter 9 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He picked at the phrase. *I pulled an all-nighter*. Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it. He knew that, of course. Was waiting, then, for Alan to bust him on it.
Chapter 9 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
ruin completely
From this reading “Was waiting, then, for Alan to bust him on it.”
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading “He knew that, of course.”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.”
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading “He picked at the phrase.”
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading “He picked at the phrase.”
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading “*I pulled an all-nighter*.”
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.”
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “Was waiting, then, for Alan to bust him on it.”
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 Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading *I pulled an all-nighter*.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading *I pulled an all-nighter*.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He picked at the phrase.
for the reason that
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
ruin completely
From this reading Was waiting, then, for Alan to bust him on it.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading He knew that, of course.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Was waiting, then, for Alan to bust him on it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He picked at the phrase.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading *I pulled an all-nighter*.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He knew that, of course.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
immediately past
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He knew that, of course.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Was waiting, then, for Alan to bust him on it.
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading He picked at the phrase.
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading He picked at the phrase.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading *I pulled an all-nighter*.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He knew that, of course.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He picked at the phrase.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Was waiting, then, for Alan to bust him on it.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading Was waiting, then, for Alan to bust him on it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Was waiting, then, for Alan to bust him on it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Kurt pulled an all-nighter because he'd left this to the last minute, not because Alan had surprised him with it.
Chapter 9 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 416 sentences of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8538 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18224 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18224, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1708 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town 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 Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
