Chapter 9 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy. "_My_ pay, _my_ work, _mine_!" It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar. It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar. It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.
Chapter 9 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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.
the act of waking
From this reading “It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.”
a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
From this reading “It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.”
relatively low in price or charging low prices
From this reading “It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.”
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading “It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.”
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.”
having or deserving or conferring glory
From this reading “It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.”
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading “It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.”
deliver a hard blow to
From this reading “It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.”
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 “It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.”
In this reading “It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.”
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 It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.
the act of waking
From this reading It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.
a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
From this reading It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.
relatively low in price or charging low prices
From this reading It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.
having or deserving or conferring glory
From this reading It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.
in place of, or as an alternative to
From this reading It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "_My_ pay, _my_ work, _mine_!"
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "_My_ pay, _my_ work, _mine_!"
not any; not one
From this reading It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It meant a cheap cigarette instead of his glorious cigar.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading "_My_ pay, _my_ work, _mine_!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.
deliver a hard blow to
From this reading It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It came as a smack in the jaw to Trampy.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the end of a beautiful dream; and the awakening was a hard one.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It meant no more pocket-money with which to lord it at the bar.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading "_My_ pay, _my_ work, _mine_!"
Chapter 9 of The Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne holds 250 sentences, grouped into 50 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 250 sentences of The Bill-Toppers, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 250 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 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.
