Chapter 9 of The informer is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The informer is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Around the corner Gypo halted. He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening. He had heard a step following him. But the steps halted also. He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.
Chapter 9 of The informer is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
in a breathless manner
From this reading “He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.”
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading “Around the corner Gypo halted.”
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading “He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.”
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading “He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.”
not in physical motion
From this reading “He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.”
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.”
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “He had heard a step following him.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “But the steps halted also.”
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 “He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.”
In this reading “He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.”
In this reading “Around the corner Gypo halted.”
In this reading “He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.”
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 He had heard a step following him.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
in addition
From this reading But the steps halted also.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Around the corner Gypo halted.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
in a breathless manner
From this reading He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the steps halted also.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading Around the corner Gypo halted.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading He had heard a step following him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.
to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (“further” is used more often than “farther” in this abstract sense)
From this reading He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Around the corner Gypo halted.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had heard a step following him.
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading Around the corner Gypo halted.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He had heard a step following him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
not in physical motion
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading He listened for several seconds breathlessly and heard nothing further.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading He had heard a step following him.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading But the steps halted also.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Around the corner Gypo halted.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He put his hand against the wall behind him and stood motionless, with his head turned back, listening.
Chapter 9 of The informer by Liam O'Flaherty holds 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 422 sentences of The informer, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The informer by Liam O'Flaherty exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 informer by Liam O'Flaherty on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The informer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The informer 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 informer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
