Chapter 18 of The Return is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Return is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mr Bethany blinked and listened. He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face. ‘Where is your precious French book?’ he said irritably. ‘It’s upstairs.’ ‘Fire away, then!’
Chapter 18 of The Return is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
From this reading “He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.”
past form of “blink” — briefly shut the eyes
From this reading “Mr Bethany blinked and listened.”
possessive form of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
obtain
From this reading “He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.”
characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for
From this reading “‘Where is your precious French book?’ he said irritably.”
maintained at length without interruption or weakening
From this reading “He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.”
position 20 in a countable series of things
From this reading “He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.”
on a floor above
From this reading “‘It’s upstairs.’”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mr Bethany blinked and listened.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading ‘Fire away, then!’
making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr Bethany blinked and listened.
past form of “blink” — briefly shut the eyes
From this reading Mr Bethany blinked and listened.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading ‘Where is your precious French book?’ he said irritably.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
start firing a weapon
From this reading ‘Fire away, then!’
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading ‘Where is your precious French book?’ he said irritably.
possessive form of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
obtain
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
in a petulant manner
From this reading ‘Where is your precious French book?’ he said irritably.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘Where is your precious French book?’ he said irritably.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘It’s upstairs.’
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading Mr Bethany blinked and listened.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr Bethany blinked and listened.
characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for
From this reading ‘Where is your precious French book?’ he said irritably.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘Where is your precious French book?’ he said irritably.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
maintained at length without interruption or weakening
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading ‘Fire away, then!’
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
position 20 in a countable series of things
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
not seen or observed
From this reading He tried for the twentieth time to judge his friend’s eyes, to gain as best he could some sustained and unobserved glance at this baffling face.
on a floor above
From this reading ‘It’s upstairs.’
in or at the place that
From this reading ‘Where is your precious French book?’ he said irritably.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘Where is your precious French book?’ he said irritably.
Chapter 18 of The Return by Walter De la Mare holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 192 sentences of The Return, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Return by Walter De la Mare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Return by Walter De la Mare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5551 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3075 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3075, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 462 minutes of reading across 1111 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Return section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Return 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 Return, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
