Chapter 9 of Sweet Rocket is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Sweet Rocket is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was five days after Anna's departure. Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow. In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East. He could not tell when he would be returning. "But Sweet Rocket goes with me!"
Chapter 9 of Sweet Rocket is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
to or in a foreign country
From this reading “In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.”
possessive form of “anna” — a former copper coin of Pakistan and India
From this reading “It was five days after Anna's departure.”
the act of departing
From this reading “It was five days after Anna's departure.”
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
From this reading “In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.”
the next day
From this reading “Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.”
the body of people in a learned occupation
From this reading “In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.”
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading “He could not tell when he would be returning.”
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading “"But Sweet Rocket goes with me!"”
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 “Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.”
In this reading “It was five days after Anna's departure.”
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.
to or in a foreign country
From this reading In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.
later than; following
From this reading It was five days after Anna's departure.
possessive form of “anna” — a former copper coin of Pakistan and India
From this reading It was five days after Anna's departure.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He could not tell when he would be returning.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But Sweet Rocket goes with me!"
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could not tell when he would be returning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading It was five days after Anna's departure.
the act of departing
From this reading It was five days after Anna's departure.
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading It was five days after Anna's departure.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading "But Sweet Rocket goes with me!"
the act of departing
From this reading Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He could not tell when he would be returning.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was five days after Anna's departure.
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
From this reading In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "But Sweet Rocket goes with me!"
the next day
From this reading Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He could not tell when he would be returning.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.
the body of people in a learned occupation
From this reading In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.
tending to return to an earlier state
From this reading He could not tell when he would be returning.
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading "But Sweet Rocket goes with me!"
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading "But Sweet Rocket goes with me!"
carry out
From this reading In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.
express in words
From this reading He could not tell when he would be returning.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.
except if; if not
From this reading Unless the storm held him Curtin was going on the morrow.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was five days after Anna's departure.
at the time that
From this reading He could not tell when he would be returning.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "But Sweet Rocket goes with me!"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading In January his profession would take him abroad, to the nearer East.
Chapter 9 of Sweet Rocket by Mary Johnston holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of Sweet Rocket, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Sweet Rocket by Mary Johnston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Sweet Rocket by Mary Johnston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3629 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56101 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56101, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sweet Rocket section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Sweet Rocket 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 Sweet Rocket, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
