Chapter 23 of The Highgrader is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Highgrader is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness. He answered. A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass. He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman. "Hurry, please, hurry....
Chapter 23 of The Highgrader is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
the lowest part of the musical range
From this reading “A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.”
past form of “boom” — make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading “A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.”
an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
From this reading “CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.”
third-person singular of “retire” — go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position
From this reading “CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.”
a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer
From this reading “CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.”
utter in a loud voice; talk in a loud voice (usually denoting characteristic manner of speaking)
From this reading “A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.”
plural of “tone” — the quality of a person's voice
From this reading “He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman.”
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading “He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman.”
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 CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading He answered.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
the lowest part of the musical range
From this reading A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.
past form of “boom” — make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.
an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He answered.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading "Hurry, please, hurry....
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.
a small worthless amount
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading "Hurry, please, hurry....
third-person singular of “retire” — go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
utter in a loud voice; talk in a loud voice (usually denoting characteristic manner of speaking)
From this reading A shout of joy boomed down to him in Colter's heavy bass.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
plural of “tone” — the quality of a person's voice
From this reading He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman.
the upper part of anything
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need
From this reading He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading CAPTAIN KILMENY RETIRES A voice calling his name from the top of the shaft brought Jack Kilmeny back to consciousness.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading He could hear, too, the sweet troubled tones of a woman.
Chapter 23 of The Highgrader by William MacLeod Raine holds 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 23 holds 122 sentences of The Highgrader, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Highgrader by William MacLeod Raine exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 23 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 Highgrader by William MacLeod Raine on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6248 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22583 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22583, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 520 minutes of reading across 1250 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Highgrader section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Highgrader 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 Highgrader, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
