Chapter 9 of Ticktock and Jim is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Ticktock and Jim is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him. His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short. His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance. He got over the fence but landed wrong. He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
Chapter 9 of Ticktock and Jim is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
bring into balance or equilibrium
From this reading “His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.”
(used in the plural) the stage of a theater
From this reading “His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.”
of metal e.g.
From this reading “He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.”
any of several mostly spotted fishes that resemble groupers
From this reading “His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.”
plural of “hoof” — the foot of an ungulate mammal
From this reading “His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.”
characterized by resonance
From this reading “His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.”
causing or able to cause nausea
From this reading “His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.”
make a dull sound
From this reading “His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.”
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 “His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.”
In this reading “He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.”
In this reading “His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.”
In this reading “The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.”
travel across or pass over
In this reading “He got over the fence but landed wrong.”
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 The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
bring into balance or equilibrium
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
(used in the plural) the stage of a theater
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
rid of objects or obstructions such as e.g. trees and brush
From this reading His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.
of metal e.g.
From this reading He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
enclose with a fence
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He got over the fence but landed wrong.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He got over the fence but landed wrong.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
any of several mostly spotted fishes that resemble groupers
From this reading His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.
cause to move by striking
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
plural of “hoof” — the foot of an ungulate mammal
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
plural of “inch” — a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
owning or consisting of land or real estate
From this reading He got over the fence but landed wrong.
a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
staying power
From this reading His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
characterized by grandeur
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
above and across; more than
From this reading He got over the fence but landed wrong.
a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
From this reading He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
characterized by resonance
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
precisely, exactly
From this reading He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.
causing or able to cause nausea
From this reading His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading He felt a terrible pain in his right foreleg as it crumpled beneath him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
make a dull sound
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
the upper part of anything
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The little horse made a magnificent leap, but the fence was too high for him.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His front legs cleared but his hind legs were a few sickening inches short.
in the company of; together with
From this reading His hooves hit the top of the boards with a resounding thud that threw him off balance.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading He got over the fence but landed wrong.
Chapter 9 of Ticktock and Jim by Keith Robertson holds 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 423 sentences of Ticktock and Jim, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Ticktock and Jim by Keith Robertson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Ticktock and Jim by Keith Robertson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3824 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44400 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44400, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 318 minutes of reading across 765 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ticktock and Jim section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Ticktock and Jim 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 Ticktock and Jim, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
