Chapter 18 of The Rat Race is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Rat Race is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk. "R. L. Grant," I told her. "To see Admiral Ballister. By appointment," I added. "Have you any identification, Mr. Grant?" she inquired.
Chapter 18 of The Rat Race is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
the supreme commander of a fleet; ranks above a vice admiral and below a fleet admiral
From this reading “"To see Admiral Ballister.”
the act of putting a person into a non-elective position
From this reading “By appointment," I added.”
a specialized division of a large organization
From this reading “"Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.”
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading “"Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.”
let have
From this reading “"R. L. Grant," I told her.”
the act of designating or identifying something
From this reading “"Have you any identification, Mr. Grant?" she inquired.”
an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
From this reading “"Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.”
the manner in which something is greeted
From this reading “"Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.”
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.
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.
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 By appointment," I added.
the supreme commander of a fleet; ranks above a vice admiral and below a fleet admiral
From this reading "To see Admiral Ballister.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "Have you any identification, Mr. Grant?" she inquired.
the act of putting a person into a non-elective position
From this reading By appointment," I added.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "To see Admiral Ballister.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By appointment," I added.
a specialized division of a large organization
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
let have
From this reading "R. L. Grant," I told her.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Have you any identification, Mr. Grant?" she inquired.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "R. L. Grant," I told her.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "R. L. Grant," I told her.
the act of designating or identifying something
From this reading "Have you any identification, Mr. Grant?" she inquired.
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading "Have you any identification, Mr. Grant?" she inquired.
a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)
From this reading "R. L. Grant," I told her.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Have you any identification, Mr. Grant?" she inquired.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading "R. L. Grant," I told her.
the manner in which something is greeted
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "To see Admiral Ballister.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Have you any identification, Mr. Grant?" she inquired.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
a special situation
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "To see Admiral Ballister.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading "R. L. Grant," I told her.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Have you any identification, Mr. Grant?" she inquired.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading "Name please!" asked the snippy young thing at the Navy Department Reception Desk.
Chapter 18 of The Rat Race by Jay Franklin holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 18 holds 202 sentences of The Rat Race, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Rat Race by Jay Franklin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 18 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 Rat Race by Jay Franklin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6721 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51854 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51854, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 560 minutes of reading across 1345 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rat Race section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Rat 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 Rat Race, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
