Chapter 24 of The Rocks of Valpré is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of The Rocks of Valpré is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A WARNING VOICE Five hundred pounds! Five hundred pounds! It represented her year's income to Chris. All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart. It was like a suffocating weight upon her, crushing her down.
Chapter 24 of The Rocks of Valpré is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination
From this reading “It was like a suffocating weight upon her, crushing her down.”
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading “All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.”
the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time
From this reading “It represented her year's income to Chris.”
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading “All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.”
-ing form of “quake” — shake with fast, tremulous movements
From this reading “All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.”
represented accurately or precisely
From this reading “It represented her year's income to Chris.”
causing difficulty in breathing especially through lack of fresh air and presence of heat
From this reading “It was like a suffocating weight upon her, crushing her down.”
possessive form of “year” — a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading “It represented her year's income to Chris.”
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 A WARNING VOICE Five hundred pounds!
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It represented her year's income to Chris.
physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination
From this reading It was like a suffocating weight upon her, crushing her down.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading It was like a suffocating weight upon her, crushing her down.
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading A WARNING VOICE Five hundred pounds!
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading It represented her year's income to Chris.
ten 10s
From this reading A WARNING VOICE Five hundred pounds!
the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time
From this reading It represented her year's income to Chris.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It represented her year's income to Chris.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It was like a suffocating weight upon her, crushing her down.
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 All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
plural of “pound” — 16 ounces avoirdupois
From this reading A WARNING VOICE Five hundred pounds!
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
-ing form of “quake” — shake with fast, tremulous movements
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
represented accurately or precisely
From this reading It represented her year's income to Chris.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
not in physical motion
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
causing difficulty in breathing especially through lack of fresh air and presence of heat
From this reading It was like a suffocating weight upon her, crushing her down.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It represented her year's income to Chris.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading It was like a suffocating weight upon her, crushing her down.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading A WARNING VOICE Five hundred pounds!
a message informing of danger
From this reading A WARNING VOICE Five hundred pounds!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was like a suffocating weight upon her, crushing her down.
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading It was like a suffocating weight upon her, crushing her down.
exhibiting childlike simplicity and credulity
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
in the company of; together with
From this reading All night long she lay wide-eyed and still, facing her problem with a quaking heart.
possessive form of “year” — a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading It represented her year's income to Chris.
Chapter 24 of The Rocks of Valpré by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell holds 433 sentences, grouped into 87 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 24 holds 433 sentences of The Rocks of Valpré, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of The Rocks of Valpré by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 433 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 24 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 Rocks of Valpré by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13142 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13547 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13547, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2629 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rocks of Valpré section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Rocks of Valpré 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 Rocks of Valpré, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
