Chapter 7 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 319 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 319 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Lily, come down!" Pa's voice thundered from below. Lily was out of bed in a bound. She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling. Why was Pa in such a rage?
Chapter 7 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 319 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/63 · 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.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading “Pa's voice thundered from below.”
confined by bonds
From this reading “Lily was out of bed in a bound.”
only a very short time before
From this reading “She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.”
any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading “"Lily, come down!"”
a feeling of intense anger
From this reading “Why was Pa in such a rage?”
past form of “thunder” — move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading “Pa's voice thundered from below.”
neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading “She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.”
a shaky motion
From this reading “She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.”
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.
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading “"Lily, come down!"”
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 Lily was out of bed in a bound.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Lily was out of bed in a bound.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading Pa's voice thundered from below.
confined by bonds
From this reading Lily was out of bed in a bound.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Lily, come down!"
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "Lily, come down!"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Pa's voice thundered from below.
only a very short time before
From this reading She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Lily was out of bed in a bound.
any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading "Lily, come down!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Lily was out of bed in a bound.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Lily was out of bed in a bound.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading Why was Pa in such a rage?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pa's voice thundered from below.
a feeling of intense anger
From this reading Why was Pa in such a rage?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Why was Pa in such a rage?
past form of “thunder” — move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading Pa's voice thundered from below.
neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.
a shaky motion
From this reading She could hardly tie her skirt-strings for trembling.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Pa's voice thundered from below.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Lily was out of bed in a bound.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why was Pa in such a rage?
Chapter 7 of The Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne holds 319 sentences, grouped into 64 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 7 holds 319 sentences of The Bill-Toppers, unabridged, divided into 64 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 319 sentences, grouped into 64 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 64 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 64 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 7 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 Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6921 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26242 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26242, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 576 minutes of reading across 1385 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bill-Toppers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Bill-Toppers 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 Bill-Toppers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
