Chapter XL of The Brass Check, “The Press Set Free,” is here in full — 505 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter XL of The Brass Check, “The Press Set Free,” is here in full — 505 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered: I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose. When I was a daily editor I edited. I printed what I pleased. If I could not do so, I resigned.
Chapter XL of The Brass Check, “The Press Set Free,” is here in full — 505 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/101 · 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.
improved or corrected by critical editing
From this reading “When I was a daily editor I edited.”
a person responsible for the editorial aspects of publication; the person who determines the final content of a text (especially of a newspaper or magazine)
From this reading “I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.”
plural of “experience” — the accumulation of knowledge or skill that results from direct participation in events or activities
From this reading “I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.”
a writer for newspapers and magazines
From this reading “Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:”
a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading “I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.”
to say, state, or perform again
From this reading “Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:”
past form of “resign” — leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily
From this reading “If I could not do so, I resigned.”
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading “Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:”
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 “I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.”
the editor of a newspaper
In this reading “I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.”
In this reading “Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:”
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 I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
in the past
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading If I could not do so, I resigned.
every day; without missing a day
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading If I could not do so, I resigned.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
improved or corrected by critical editing
From this reading When I was a daily editor I edited.
a person responsible for the editorial aspects of publication; the person who determines the final content of a text (especially of a newspaper or magazine)
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
plural of “experience” — the accumulation of knowledge or skill that results from direct participation in events or activities
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
a writer for newspapers and magazines
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading If I could not do so, I resigned.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading I printed what I pleased.
past form of “print” — put into print
From this reading I printed what I pleased.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
to say, state, or perform again
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
past form of “resign” — leave (a job, post, or position) voluntarily
From this reading If I could not do so, I resigned.
serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading If I could not do so, I resigned.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When I was a daily editor I edited.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I printed what I pleased.
at the time that
From this reading When I was a daily editor I edited.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
a late time of life
From this reading Some years ago Allan Benson told me of his troubles as an honest journalist; I asked him to repeat them for this book, and he answered:
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I doubt if my experiences as a daily newspaper editor would serve your purpose.
Chapter 40 of The Brass Check by Upton Sinclair holds 505 sentences, grouped into 101 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 40 holds 505 sentences of The Brass Check, unabridged, divided into 101 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of The Brass Check by Upton Sinclair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 505 sentences, grouped into 101 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 101 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 101 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 40 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 Brass Check by Upton Sinclair on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
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 Brass Check section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Brass Check 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 Brass Check, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
