Chapter 40 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Elizabeth kissed her. It seemed very unreal, like everything else. She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying. She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant. But then, what was important?
Chapter 40 of The Breaking Point is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
demanding attention
From this reading “She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.”
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading “Elizabeth kissed her.”
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading “She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.”
of great significance or value
From this reading “But then, what was important?”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “Elizabeth kissed her.”
not important
From this reading “She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.”
lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria
From this reading “It seemed very unreal, like everything else.”
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading “She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But then, what was important?
demanding attention
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading Elizabeth kissed her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It seemed very unreal, like everything else.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading It seemed very unreal, like everything else.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Elizabeth kissed her.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
of great significance or value
From this reading But then, what was important?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seemed very unreal, like everything else.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading Elizabeth kissed her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It seemed very unreal, like everything else.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed very unreal, like everything else.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading But then, what was important?
in or at that place or location
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
not important
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria
From this reading It seemed very unreal, like everything else.
precisely as stated
From this reading It seemed very unreal, like everything else.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She wondered if there was something strange about her, that it should seem so small and unimportant.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading But then, what was important?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading She wondered why Leslie should be so excited, or her mother crying.
Chapter 40 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 40 holds 222 sentences of The Breaking Point, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 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.
