Chapter 9 of The Last Ditch is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Last Ditch is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind. "A real man would have done neither," he added. "He would have taken his medicine and not thought of death. There is always a yellow streak in letting go.... I’m sorry to bring you such a story.
Chapter 9 of The Last Ditch is here in full — 394 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading “There is always a yellow streak in letting go....”
the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques
From this reading “"He would have taken his medicine and not thought of death.”
emotionally hurt or upset or annoyed
From this reading “She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.”
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading “She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.”
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “I’m sorry to bring you such a story.”
an unbroken series of events
From this reading “There is always a yellow streak in letting go....”
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading “There is always a yellow streak in letting go....”
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 “There is always a yellow streak in letting go....”
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 "A real man would have done neither," he added.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading "A real man would have done neither," he added.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading There is always a yellow streak in letting go....
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "He would have taken his medicine and not thought of death.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading I’m sorry to bring you such a story.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading "He would have taken his medicine and not thought of death.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "A real man would have done neither," he added.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading There is always a yellow streak in letting go....
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "A real man would have done neither," he added.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "A real man would have done neither," he added.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "He would have taken his medicine and not thought of death.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I’m sorry to bring you such a story.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is always a yellow streak in letting go....
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading There is always a yellow streak in letting go....
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "A real man would have done neither," he added.
the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques
From this reading "He would have taken his medicine and not thought of death.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading "A real man would have done neither," he added.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "He would have taken his medicine and not thought of death.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "He would have taken his medicine and not thought of death.
emotionally hurt or upset or annoyed
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
with speed
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading "A real man would have done neither," he added.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading She shook her head quickly, as if pained at some picture in her mind.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading I’m sorry to bring you such a story.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading I’m sorry to bring you such a story.
an unbroken series of events
From this reading There is always a yellow streak in letting go....
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading I’m sorry to bring you such a story.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading "He would have taken his medicine and not thought of death.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is always a yellow streak in letting go....
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "He would have taken his medicine and not thought of death.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I’m sorry to bring you such a story.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "A real man would have done neither," he added.
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading There is always a yellow streak in letting go....
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I’m sorry to bring you such a story.
Chapter 9 of The Last Ditch by Will Levington Comfort holds 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 394 sentences of The Last Ditch, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Last Ditch by Will Levington Comfort exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 394 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 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.
