Chapter 9 of The Land of Content is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Land of Content is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense. "Don't be so absurd, Marshall!" "Absurd!" he cried, in mock indignation. "Is it absurd to greet the dawn? Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
Chapter 9 of The Land of Content is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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 state of being absent
From this reading “Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!”
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading “"Don't be so absurd, Marshall!"”
the first light of day
From this reading “"Is it absurd to greet the dawn?”
express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading “"Is it absurd to greet the dawn?”
a feeling of righteous anger
From this reading “"Absurd!" he cried, in mock indignation.”
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading “"Don't be so absurd, Marshall!"”
treat with contempt
From this reading “"Absurd!" he cried, in mock indignation.”
a message that seems to convey no meaning
From this reading “"Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.”
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 “"Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.”
In this reading “Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!”
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.
the state of being absent
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading "Don't be so absurd, Marshall!"
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Absurd!" he cried, in mock indignation.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
the first light of day
From this reading "Is it absurd to greet the dawn?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't be so absurd, Marshall!"
express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading "Is it absurd to greet the dawn?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Absurd!" he cried, in mock indignation.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
a feeling of righteous anger
From this reading "Absurd!" he cried, in mock indignation.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is it absurd to greet the dawn?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Is it absurd to greet the dawn?
immediately past
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
United States actor (1914-1998)
From this reading "Don't be so absurd, Marshall!"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
treat with contempt
From this reading "Absurd!" he cried, in mock indignation.
a message that seems to convey no meaning
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Don't be so absurd, Marshall!"
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
express in words
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Is it absurd to greet the dawn?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Is it absurd to greet the dawn?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "Be quiet," Rosamund whispered, laughing, in spite of herself, at his nonsense.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Here we've all been living in the darkness of your absence, and now you're back at last, and you tell me not to be absurd!
Chapter 9 of The Land of Content by Edith Barnard Delano holds 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 441 sentences of The Land of Content, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Land of Content by Edith Barnard Delano exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Land of Content by Edith Barnard Delano on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4350 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58680 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58680, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 362 minutes of reading across 870 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Land of Content section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Land of Content 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 Land of Content, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
