Chapter 11 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It stifled Lily, for the moment. She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband. She had her Pa's blood in her, damn it! "What!" she thought. "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
Chapter 11 of The Bill-Toppers is here in full — 226 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
third-person singular of “believe” — accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “"He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"”
fasten with a buckle or buckles
From this reading “She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.”
plural of “contract” — a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law
From this reading “She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.”
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading “"He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"”
the trait of lacking courage
From this reading “She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.”
used as expletives
From this reading “She had her Pa's blood in her, damn it!”
bad or dishonest management by persons supposed to act on another's behalf
From this reading “"He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"”
held in check with difficulty
From this reading “It stifled Lily, for the moment.”
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.
temporarily
In this reading “It stifled Lily, for the moment.”
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 "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
third-person singular of “believe” — accept as true; take to be true
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading She had her Pa's blood in her, damn it!
fasten with a buckle or buckles
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
plural of “contract” — a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
the trait of lacking courage
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
used as expletives
From this reading She had her Pa's blood in her, damn it!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It stifled Lily, for the moment.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had her Pa's blood in her, damn it!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It stifled Lily, for the moment.
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading It stifled Lily, for the moment.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
bad or dishonest management by persons supposed to act on another's behalf
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
a particular point in time
From this reading It stifled Lily, for the moment.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She had her Pa's blood in her, damn it!
on the contrary
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
held in check with difficulty
From this reading It stifled Lily, for the moment.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It stifled Lily, for the moment.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "What!" she thought.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "He believes me to misconduct myself with Jimmy, and he is too much of a coward to object!"
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What!" she thought.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading She would rather have received twenty "contracts" with the steel buckle than see that cowardice in her husband.
Chapter 11 of The Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne holds 226 sentences, grouped into 46 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 11 holds 226 sentences of The Bill-Toppers, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Bill-Toppers by J. André Castaigne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 226 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 11 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.
