Chapter 9 of The Topaz Story Book is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Topaz Story Book is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?” “No, I didn’t, Homer.” “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.” “Has he bought your Thanksgivin’ turkeys?” “He hain’t bought ’em for Thanksgivin’.”
Chapter 9 of The Topaz Story Book is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
any of numerous small songbirds with short stout bills adapted for crushing seeds
From this reading ““Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.””
your parents
From this reading ““Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.””
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading ““No, I didn’t, Homer.””
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading ““Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?””
the world of commercial activity where goods and services are bought and sold
From this reading ““Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.””
English literary critic who collaborated with C. K. Ogden and contributed to the development of Basic English (1893-1979)
From this reading ““Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.””
plural of “turkey” — large gallinaceous bird with fan-shaped tail; widely domesticated for food
From this reading ““Has he bought your Thanksgivin’ turkeys?””
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading ““Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?””
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 ““Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.””
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.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “Has he bought your Thanksgivin’ turkeys?”
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “No, I didn’t, Homer.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
a quad with a square body
From this reading “He hain’t bought ’em for Thanksgivin’.”
any of numerous small songbirds with short stout bills adapted for crushing seeds
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
your parents
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “He hain’t bought ’em for Thanksgivin’.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He hain’t bought ’em for Thanksgivin’.”
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Has he bought your Thanksgivin’ turkeys?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Has he bought your Thanksgivin’ turkeys?”
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading “No, I didn’t, Homer.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “No, I didn’t, Homer.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
the world of commercial activity where goods and services are bought and sold
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
not any; not one
From this reading “No, I didn’t, Homer.”
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
above and across; more than
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
English literary critic who collaborated with C. K. Ogden and contributed to the development of Basic English (1893-1979)
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Has he bought your Thanksgivin’ turkeys?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
plural of “turkey” — large gallinaceous bird with fan-shaped tail; widely domesticated for food
From this reading “Has he bought your Thanksgivin’ turkeys?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well, ’twas Mr. Richards--the Mr. Richards o’ Finch & Richards, the big market folks over in the city.”
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Did you see the man that jest druv out o’ the yard?”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Has he bought your Thanksgivin’ turkeys?”
Chapter 9 of The Topaz Story Book by Ada M. (Ada Maria)[Compiler] Skinner holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of The Topaz Story Book, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Topaz Story Book by Ada M. (Ada Maria)[Compiler] Skinner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Topaz Story Book by Ada M. (Ada Maria)[Compiler] Skinner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3554 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51734 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51734, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 296 minutes of reading across 711 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Topaz Story Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Topaz Story Book 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 Topaz Story Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
