Chapter 40 of The Raft is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XL
Chapter 40 of The Raft is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He was late. It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming. He punted down the last stretch of river. It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel. He had arrived in Henley that morning.
Chapter 40 of The Raft is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
From this reading “It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.”
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “He had arrived in Henley that morning.”
pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
From this reading “It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.”
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading “He was late.”
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading “He punted down the last stretch of river.”
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading “He punted down the last stretch of river.”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.”
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading “It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.”
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 “He punted down the last stretch of river.”
In this reading “He had arrived in Henley that morning.”
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.
give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
From this reading It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading He had arrived in Henley that morning.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
From this reading It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He punted down the last stretch of river.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was late.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had arrived in Henley that morning.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He had arrived in Henley that morning.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
immediately past
From this reading He punted down the last stretch of river.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading He was late.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading He had arrived in Henley that morning.
not any; not one
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He punted down the last stretch of river.
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading He punted down the last stretch of river.
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading He punted down the last stretch of river.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He had arrived in Henley that morning.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He punted down the last stretch of river.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading It didn't matter; no one had been warned of his coming.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was late.
but in spite of that
From this reading It had been Peterish, yet appropriate of him to choose this means of travel.
Chapter 40 of The Raft by Coningsby Dawson holds 113 sentences, grouped into 23 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 40 holds 113 sentences of The Raft, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 40 of The Raft by Coningsby Dawson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 113 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 40 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 Raft by Coningsby Dawson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13021 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50498 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50498, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2605 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Raft section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Raft 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 Raft, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
