Chapter 9 of The Babbington case is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Babbington case is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DIGGING PITFALLS. There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked: “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?” “No. I did not.” “Why did you look for them, even then?
Chapter 9 of The Babbington case is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:”
the act of digging
From this reading “DIGGING PITFALLS.”
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading ““You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?””
plural of “key” — metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading ““You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?””
a detachable lock; has a hinged shackle that can be passed through the staple of a hasp or the links in a chain and then snapped shut
From this reading ““You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?””
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:”
plural of “pitfall” — an unforeseen or unexpected or surprising difficulty
From this reading “DIGGING PITFALLS.”
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading “There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:”
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 “There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:”
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 There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
later than; following
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
the act of digging
From this reading DIGGING PITFALLS.
divisible by two
From this reading “Why did you look for them, even then?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
plural of “key” — metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
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 “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
a form of address for a man
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
not any; not one
From this reading “No. I did not.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
a detachable lock; has a hinged shackle that can be passed through the staple of a hasp or the links in a chain and then snapped shut
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
plural of “pitfall” — an unforeseen or unexpected or surprising difficulty
From this reading DIGGING PITFALLS.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading “Why did you look for them, even then?
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
up to a particular time
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Why did you look for them, even then?
in the company of; together with
From this reading There was another short pause, and then, with a sudden change of the subject, the detective asked:
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You did not look for the keys to the padlock on the gate till after I had left you this morning, Mr. Lynne, did you?”
Chapter 9 of The Babbington case by Nicholas (House name) Carter holds 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 150 sentences of The Babbington case, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Babbington case by Nicholas (House name) Carter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 The Babbington case by Nicholas (House name) Carter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Babbington case section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Babbington case 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 The Babbington case, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
