Chapter 11 of The rasp is here in full — 295 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The rasp is here in full — 295 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car. Through London he drove fast; clear of it, terrifically. Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed. It was preferable to be on a horse; but the car was better than nothing. Besides, was there not work to be done?
Chapter 11 of The rasp is here in full — 295 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/59 · 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.
Roman general under Julius Caesar in the Gallic wars; repudiated his wife for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra; they were defeated by Octavian at Actium (83-30 BC)
From this reading “Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.”
the comfort you feel when consoled in times of disappointment
From this reading “Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.”
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.”
having the place or position changed
From this reading “Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.”
more desirable than another
From this reading “It was preferable to be on a horse; but the car was better than nothing.”
past form of “re-enter” — enter again
From this reading “Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.”
move hurridly
From this reading “Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.”
(used as an intensifier) extremely well
From this reading “Through London he drove fast; clear of it, terrifically.”
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 “Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.”
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 Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
later than; following
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
Roman general under Julius Caesar in the Gallic wars; repudiated his wife for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra; they were defeated by Octavian at Actium (83-30 BC)
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It was preferable to be on a horse; but the car was better than nothing.
in addition to; as well as
From this reading Besides, was there not work to be done?
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading It was preferable to be on a horse; but the car was better than nothing.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It was preferable to be on a horse; but the car was better than nothing.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
rid of obstructions
From this reading Through London he drove fast; clear of it, terrifically.
the comfort you feel when consoled in times of disappointment
From this reading Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
having the place or position changed
From this reading Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Besides, was there not work to be done?
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading Through London he drove fast; clear of it, terrifically.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading Through London he drove fast; clear of it, terrifically.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
set up or found
From this reading Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Through London he drove fast; clear of it, terrifically.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading It was preferable to be on a horse; but the car was better than nothing.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading Through London he drove fast; clear of it, terrifically.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Besides, was there not work to be done?
not one thing; not anything
From this reading It was preferable to be on a horse; but the car was better than nothing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It was preferable to be on a horse; but the car was better than nothing.
more desirable than another
From this reading It was preferable to be on a horse; but the car was better than nothing.
past form of “re-enter” — enter again
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
that is looked for
From this reading Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.
move hurridly
From this reading Always, when he found himself disturbed, he sought consolation in speed.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
(used as an intensifier) extremely well
From this reading Through London he drove fast; clear of it, terrifically.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading It was preferable to be on a horse; but the car was better than nothing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Besides, was there not work to be done?
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Through London he drove fast; clear of it, terrifically.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
at the time that
From this reading Birds of the Air It was a few minutes after half-past four when Anthony descended to the street and re-entered his car.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Besides, was there not work to be done?
Chapter 11 of The rasp by Philip MacDonald holds 295 sentences, grouped into 59 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 11 holds 295 sentences of The rasp, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The rasp by Philip MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 295 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 11 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 rasp by Philip MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6595 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72462 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72462, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 549 minutes of reading across 1319 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The rasp section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The rasp 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 rasp, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
