Chapter 9 of The Secret of Steeple Rocks is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Secret of Steeple Rocks is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?" Elizabeth Secrest eyed her brother seriously. "Yes, Beth. I know that you are thinking about the money, and I don't blame you. You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
Chapter 9 of The Secret of Steeple Rocks is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet
From this reading “"Yes, Beth.”
a metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters
From this reading “THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"”
earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
From this reading “You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'”
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading “Elizabeth Secrest eyed her brother seriously.”
the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)
From this reading “THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"”
the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time
From this reading “You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'”
the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
From this reading “You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'”
cut with sweeping strokes; as with an ax or machete
From this reading “You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'”
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 “You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'”
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 You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading I know that you are thinking about the money, and I don't blame you.
(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 You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I know that you are thinking about the money, and I don't blame you.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
the 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet
From this reading "Yes, Beth.
put or pin the blame on
From this reading I know that you are thinking about the money, and I don't blame you.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading Elizabeth Secrest eyed her brother seriously.
a metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I know that you are thinking about the money, and I don't blame you.
earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading Elizabeth Secrest eyed her brother seriously.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
having an eye or eyes or eyelike feature especially as specified; often used in combination
From this reading Elizabeth Secrest eyed her brother seriously.
the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Elizabeth Secrest eyed her brother seriously.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I know that you are thinking about the money, and I don't blame you.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I know that you are thinking about the money, and I don't blame you.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading I know that you are thinking about the money, and I don't blame you.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Elizabeth Secrest eyed her brother seriously.
in a serious manner
From this reading Elizabeth Secrest eyed her brother seriously.
cut with sweeping strokes; as with an ax or machete
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
use up a period of time in a specific way
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading I know that you are thinking about the money, and I don't blame you.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
the act of using
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, Beth.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading THE FIRST TREE FALLS "Dal, are you sure that we ought to do this?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You have had a hard enough time to earn our income, and if I slash around and spend all our principal, you'll be thinking 'What's the use?'
Chapter 9 of The Secret of Steeple Rocks by Harriet Pyne Grove holds 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 9 holds 180 sentences of The Secret of Steeple Rocks, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Secret of Steeple Rocks by Harriet Pyne Grove exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 9 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 Secret of Steeple Rocks by Harriet Pyne Grove on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3593 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45530 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45530, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 299 minutes of reading across 719 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret of Steeple Rocks section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Secret of Steeple Rocks 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 Secret of Steeple Rocks, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
