Chapter 31 of The Obstacle Race is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of The Obstacle Race is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door. "Supper's been in this long time," she called. "And Mr. Green's still over at the school." There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room. She opened the door and met her on the threshold.
Chapter 31 of The Obstacle Race is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
past form of “ascend” — travel up
From this reading “COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.”
of short duration or distance
From this reading “There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.”
plural of “coal” — fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period
From this reading “COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.”
possessive form of “green” — green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading “"And Mr. Green's still over at the school."”
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.”
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading “There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.”
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading “She opened the door and met her on the threshold.”
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 There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
past form of “ascend” — travel up
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Supper's been in this long time," she called.
of short duration or distance
From this reading There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Supper's been in this long time," she called.
plural of “coal” — fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
start firing a weapon
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
possessive form of “green” — green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading "And Mr. Green's still over at the school."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She opened the door and met her on the threshold.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Supper's been in this long time," she called.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "Supper's been in this long time," she called.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading She opened the door and met her on the threshold.
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "And Mr. Green's still over at the school."
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She opened the door and met her on the threshold.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading She opened the door and met her on the threshold.
above and across; more than
From this reading "And Mr. Green's still over at the school."
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.
an educational institution
From this reading "And Mr. Green's still over at the school."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Supper's been in this long time," she called.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
not in physical motion
From this reading "And Mr. Green's still over at the school."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Supper's been in this long time," she called.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a brief pause, then Juliet's quiet movement in the room.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Supper's been in this long time," she called.
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading She opened the door and met her on the threshold.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "Supper's been in this long time," she called.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading COALS OF FIRE It was nearly half-an-hour later that Mrs. Rickett ascended the stairs and knocked at Juliet's door.
Chapter 31 of The Obstacle Race by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell holds 231 sentences, grouped into 47 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 31 holds 231 sentences of The Obstacle Race, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of The Obstacle Race by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 231 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 31 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 Obstacle Race by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9621 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11520 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11520, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1925 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Obstacle Race section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Obstacle Race 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 Obstacle Race, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
