Chapter 9 of The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories is here in full — 417 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 The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"To Jamaica! Oh, Cecil! How awfully far! And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something." "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
Chapter 9 of The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories is here in full — 417 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.
used as intensifiers
From this reading “How awfully far!”
shoot in one stroke under par
From this reading “"But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.”
a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection
From this reading “And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."”
give surety or assume responsibility
From this reading “"But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.”
a country on the island of Jamaica; became independent of England in 1962; much poverty; the major industry is tourism
From this reading “"To Jamaica!”
the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading “"But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.”
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading “"But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.”
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading “And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."”
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.
caused by a flavivirus transmitted by a mosquito
In this reading “And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."”
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 "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."
used as intensifiers
From this reading How awfully far!
shoot in one stroke under par
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, Cecil!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading How awfully far!
a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection
From this reading And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."
give surety or assume responsibility
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How awfully far!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
a country on the island of Jamaica; became independent of England in 1962; much poverty; the major industry is tourism
From this reading "To Jamaica!
the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, Cecil!
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."
make a promise or commitment
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."
express a supposition
From this reading And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "To Jamaica!
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."
in the company of; together with
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But I won't, Ethel; I promise you I won't, and I'll guarantee it with a kiss, birdie; so now, that's settled.
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And suppose you were to get yellow fever or something."
Chapter 9 of The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories by Grant Allen holds 417 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 417 sentences of The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories by Grant Allen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 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 The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories by Grant Allen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7828 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38531 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38531, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1566 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories 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 Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
