Chapter 7 of The Last Ditch is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Last Ditch is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He saw one hand leave the table between them. It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words. Her eyes were wide with terror.... Now a change came. She turned to the forward room, listening.
Chapter 7 of The Last Ditch is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading “Now a change came.”
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading “She turned to the forward room, listening.”
relating to physical reality rather than with thoughts or the mind
From this reading “It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.”
the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading “It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.”
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.”
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading “Her eyes were wide with terror....”
hard to endure
From this reading “It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “Her eyes were wide with terror....”
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 “Her eyes were wide with terror....”
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 Now a change came.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading He saw one hand leave the table between them.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Now a change came.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading Now a change came.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Her eyes were wide with terror....
at or to or toward the front
From this reading She turned to the forward room, listening.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He saw one hand leave the table between them.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He saw one hand leave the table between them.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her eyes were wide with terror....
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
go away from a place
From this reading He saw one hand leave the table between them.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading She turned to the forward room, listening.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now a change came.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He saw one hand leave the table between them.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
relating to physical reality rather than with thoughts or the mind
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading She turned to the forward room, listening.
cut with a saw
From this reading He saw one hand leave the table between them.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She turned to the forward room, listening.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading He saw one hand leave the table between them.
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading Her eyes were wide with terror....
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He saw one hand leave the table between them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He saw one hand leave the table between them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
hard to endure
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She turned to the forward room, listening.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Her eyes were wide with terror....
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading Her eyes were wide with terror....
in the company of; together with
From this reading Her eyes were wide with terror....
the words that are spoken
From this reading It was held out to him, palm outward, as if trying to stop his words.
Chapter 7 of The Last Ditch by Will Levington Comfort holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 7 holds 404 sentences of The Last Ditch, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Last Ditch by Will Levington Comfort exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 7 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 Last Ditch by Will Levington Comfort on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5223 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46152 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46152, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 435 minutes of reading across 1045 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Last Ditch section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Last Ditch 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 Last Ditch, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
