Chapter 30 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said. “And he mustn't see me like this. If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it. “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her. “I guess I need food, Aunt Lucy.”
Chapter 30 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 227 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.
terminate
From this reading ““We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.”
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading ““I guess I need food, Aunt Lucy.””
in a gradual manner
From this reading ““We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading ““I guess I need food, Aunt Lucy.””
incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern Ethiopia in 1974
From this reading ““I guess I need food, Aunt Lucy.””
edge tool used in shaving
From this reading “If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.”
English portrait painter and first president of the Royal Academy (1723-1792)
From this reading “If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading ““I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.”
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 If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And he mustn't see me like this.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading “I guess I need food, Aunt Lucy.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
terminate
From this reading “We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
clothing in general
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
take in solid food
From this reading “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading “I guess I need food, Aunt Lucy.”
in a gradual manner
From this reading “We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “I guess I need food, Aunt Lucy.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “And he mustn't see me like this.
incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern Ethiopia in 1974
From this reading “I guess I need food, Aunt Lucy.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “And he mustn't see me like this.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “And he mustn't see me like this.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading “I guess I need food, Aunt Lucy.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
edge tool used in shaving
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
English portrait painter and first president of the Royal Academy (1723-1792)
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “And he mustn't see me like this.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “And he mustn't see me like this.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I haven't taken time to eat much to-day,” he said, smiling at her.
precisely as stated
From this reading “We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We'll have to break it to him very gently,” he said.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading If you can find some of my clothes and Reynolds' razor, I'll--” He caught suddenly to the back of a chair and held on to it.
Chapter 30 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 227 sentences, grouped into 46 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 30 holds 227 sentences of The Breaking Point, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 227 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 30 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 Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9105 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1601 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1601, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1821 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Breaking Point section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Breaking Point 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 Breaking Point, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
