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The Master of the Shell
The Master of the Shell

Chapter IX · Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of The Master of the Shell is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Master of the Shell
Context Illustration Reading 1/84 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"Pity," said the doctor pleasantly.
"Of course you have had diphtheria yourself?"
"No."
"H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.
But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Master of the Shell

Chapter IX · Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of The Master of the Shell 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

Line 1
"Pity," said the doctor pleasantly.
/ˈpɪti sed ðə ˈdɑːktər ˈplezəntli/
Line 2
"Of course you have had diphtheria yourself?"
/ʌv kɔːrs juː hæv hæd dɪfˈθɪriɑː jərˈself/
Line 3
"No."
/noʊ/
Line 4
"H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.
Line 5
But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

Learner Dictionary

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.

advise verb US /ædˈvaɪz/

give advice to

From this reading “"H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.”

diphtheria noun US /dɪfˈθɪriɑː/

acute contagious infection caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae; marked by the formation of a false membrane in the throat and other air passages causing difficulty in breathing

From this reading “"Of course you have had diphtheria yourself?"”

doubtful adjective US /ˈdaʊtfəl/

open to doubt or suspicion

From this reading “But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.”

guard noun US /ɡɑːrd/

a person who keeps watch over something or someone

From this reading “"H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.”

nurse verb US /nɜːrs/

try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury

From this reading “But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.”

pleasantly adverb US /ˈplezəntli/

in a cheerful manner

From this reading “"Pity," said the doctor pleasantly.”

relieve verb US /rɪˈliːv/

provide physical relief, as from pain

From this reading “"H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.”

somebody pronoun US /ˈsʌmbɑːdi/

a person, without saying who

From this reading “"H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.”

All words in this reading · 37

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.

adviseverbUS /ædˈvaɪz/

give advice to

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

comesnounUS /kʌmz/

plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

coursenounUS /kɔːrs/

education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings

From this reading "Of course you have had diphtheria yourself?"

diphtherianounUS /dɪfˈθɪriɑː/

acute contagious infection caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae; marked by the formation of a false membrane in the throat and other air passages causing difficulty in breathing

From this reading "Of course you have had diphtheria yourself?"

doctornounUS /ˈdɑːktər/

a licensed medical practitioner

From this reading "Pity," said the doctor pleasantly.

doubtfuladjectiveUS /ˈdaʊtfəl/

open to doubt or suspicion

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

guardnounUS /ɡɑːrd/

a person who keeps watch over something or someone

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

H'm

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading "Of course you have had diphtheria yourself?"

hardlyadverbUS /ˈhɑːrdli/

only a very short time before

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading "Of course you have had diphtheria yourself?"

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

it's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

leaveverbUS /liːv/

go away from a place

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

NodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading "No."

nurseverbUS /nɜːrs/

try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

OfprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "Of course you have had diphtheria yourself?"

PitynounUS /ˈpɪti/

a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others

From this reading "Pity," said the doctor pleasantly.

pleasantlyadverbUS /ˈplezəntli/

in a cheerful manner

From this reading "Pity," said the doctor pleasantly.

relieveverbUS /rɪˈliːv/

provide physical relief, as from pain

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading "Pity," said the doctor pleasantly.

somebodypronounUS /ˈsʌmbɑːdi/

a person, without saying who

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading "Pity," said the doctor pleasantly.

tillprepositionUS /tɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

timenounUS /taɪm/

an instance or single occasion for some event

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading "H'm, I can hardly advise you to leave him till somebody comes to relieve guard.

welladverbUS /wel/

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

whetherconjunctionUS /ˈweðər/

used to introduce two or more possibilities

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading But it's doubtful whether he will be well in time to nurse you.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "Of course you have had diphtheria yourself?"

yourselfpronounUS /jərˈself/

used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action

From this reading "Of course you have had diphtheria yourself?"

Chapter 9 of The Master of the Shell by Talbot Baines Reed 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.

What does chapter 9 of The Master of the Shell contain?

Chapter 9 holds 422 sentences of The Master of the Shell, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 9 of The Master of the Shell by Talbot Baines Reed 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.

How do I study chapter 9 of The Master of the Shell?

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.

Can chapter 9 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Master of the Shell

Common questions about reading The Master of the Shell by Talbot Baines Reed on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Master of the Shell?

Yes. All 5869 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21050 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Master of the Shell is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #21050, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Master of the Shell take to read?

About 489 minutes of reading across 1174 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Master of the Shell section by section

How to work through The Master of the Shell section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

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  2. Read one section

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  3. Listen and tap

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Vocabulary met early in The Master of the Shell

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Master of the Shell, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Talbot
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Master of the Shell; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Baines
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Master of the Shell; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Start
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Master of the Shell; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Rather
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Master of the Shell; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.