Chapter 39 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“It's a bad business, Dick,” he said. After a time Dick stirred. “When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky. I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way. Then, when I got it, I didn't want it.
Chapter 39 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading ““It's a bad business, Dick,” he said.”
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading ““It's a bad business, Dick,” he said.”
someone who is a detective
From this reading ““It's a bad business, Dick,” he said.”
To recall to mind.
From this reading ““When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “After a time Dick stirred.”
inflected form of “steal” — take without the owner's consent
From this reading “I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.”
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading ““When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.”
a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
From this reading ““When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.”
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's a bad business, Dick,” he said.
later than; following
From this reading After a time Dick stirred.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “It's a bad business, Dick,” he said.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “It's a bad business, Dick,” he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.
someone who is a detective
From this reading “It's a bad business, Dick,” he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then, when I got it, I didn't want it.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading “When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “It's a bad business, Dick,” he said.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It's a bad business, Dick,” he said.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.
To recall to mind.
From this reading “When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It's a bad business, Dick,” he said.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading After a time Dick stirred.
inflected form of “steal” — take without the owner's consent
From this reading I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, when I got it, I didn't want it.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading After a time Dick stirred.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading Then, when I got it, I didn't want it.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading “When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.
at the time that
From this reading “When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.
a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
From this reading “When I first began to remember,” he said, “I wanted whisky.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I would have stolen it, if I couldn't have got it any other way.
Chapter 39 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 232 sentences, grouped into 47 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 39 holds 232 sentences of The Breaking Point, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 232 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 39 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.
