Chapter 9 of The Empty Sack is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Empty Sack is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain. Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense. "What did you say? Sit down. Tell me that again."
Chapter 9 of The Empty Sack is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
of or relating to the process of hearing
From this reading “It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.”
connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces
From this reading “It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.”
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading “Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.”
in an imperfect or faulty way
From this reading “It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.”
any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body
From this reading “It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.”
something you have to do
From this reading “It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.”
filled with bewilderment
From this reading “Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.”
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading “Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.”
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 “Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.”
take a seat
In this reading “Sit down.”
able to be negotiated or arranged by compromise
In this reading “Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.”
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.
anew
From this reading Tell me that again."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
of or relating to the process of hearing
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "What did you say?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Sit down.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
in an imperfect or faulty way
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Tell me that again."
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
something you have to do
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
filled with bewilderment
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
express in words
From this reading "What did you say?
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
be seated
From this reading Sit down.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
express in words
From this reading Tell me that again."
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading Mrs. Collingham placed her cup on the table and leaned forward, puzzled, tense.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Tell me that again."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What did you say?
at the time that
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was one of those occasions when the auditory nerve seems to connect imperfectly with the brain.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What did you say?
Chapter 9 of The Empty Sack by Basil King holds 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 9 holds 201 sentences of The Empty Sack, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Empty Sack by Basil King exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 9 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 Empty Sack by Basil King on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7013 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37412 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37412, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 584 minutes of reading across 1403 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Empty Sack section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Empty Sack 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 Empty Sack, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
