Chapter 30 of The Gold Brick is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXX
Chapter 30 of The Gold Brick is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MOTHER AND SON. Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone. He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him. The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him. Unconsciously he circled her with one arm.
Chapter 30 of The Gold Brick is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
plural of “billow” — a large sea wave
From this reading “He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.”
past form of “circle” — travel around something
From this reading “Unconsciously he circled her with one arm.”
-ing form of “drown” — cover completely or make imperceptible
From this reading “He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.”
an instrument of execution consisting of a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by hanging
From this reading “The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.”
an upward movement (especially a rhythmical rising and falling)
From this reading “He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.”
grains used as food either unpolished or more often polished
From this reading “Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.”
plural of “timber” — the wood of trees cut and prepared for use as building material
From this reading “The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.”
characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
From this reading “He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.”
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.
a woman who is old
In this reading “The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.”
In this reading “Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.”
In this reading “He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.”
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 Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE MOTHER AND SON.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading Unconsciously he circled her with one arm.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
plural of “billow” — a large sea wave
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
past form of “circle” — travel around something
From this reading Unconsciously he circled her with one arm.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
-ing form of “drown” — cover completely or make imperceptible
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
an instrument of execution consisting of a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by hanging
From this reading The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
an upward movement (especially a rhythmical rising and falling)
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading THE MOTHER AND SON.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Unconsciously he circled her with one arm.
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.
grains used as food either unpolished or more often polished
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
a male human offspring
From this reading THE MOTHER AND SON.
express in speech
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
the activity of providing for or maintaining by supplying with money or necessities
From this reading The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MOTHER AND SON.
plural of “timber” — the wood of trees cut and prepared for use as building material
From this reading The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
without awareness
From this reading Unconsciously he circled her with one arm.
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading Rice did not speak--he did not move--a weight of blood fell back on his heart, turning it to stone.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He felt like a drowning man, with the billows of a turbulent ocean heaving around him.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The old woman left her support against the timbers of the gallows, and rested against him.
Chapter 30 of The Gold Brick by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens holds 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 30 holds 176 sentences of The Gold Brick, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of The Gold Brick by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Gold Brick by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7988 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34500 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34500, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1598 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Gold Brick section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Gold Brick 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 Gold Brick, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
