Chapter 9 of True Tilda is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of True Tilda is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FREEDOM. "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG. A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway. It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace. "Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.
Chapter 9 of True Tilda is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading “A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.”
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading “A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.”
include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
From this reading “It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.”
plural of “eyelid” — either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading “It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.”
a storage compartment for clothes and valuables; usually it has a lock
From this reading “"Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.”
without strain or anxiety
From this reading “It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.”
a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer
From this reading “A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.”
having an oblique or slanted direction
From this reading “A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.”
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 "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading "Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading "Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.
the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.
include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
plural of “eyelid” — either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
From this reading FREEDOM.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
a storage compartment for clothes and valuables; usually it has a lock
From this reading "Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
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 "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
on one occasion
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.
without strain or anxiety
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading "Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.
a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer
From this reading A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
having an oblique or slanted direction
From this reading A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading A pale shaft of daylight slanted through the cabin doorway.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "_O, a bargeman's is the life for me, Though there's nothin' to be seen but scener-ee!_"--OLD SONG.
having come into contact
From this reading It touched Tilda's eyelids, and she opened them at once, stared, and relaxed her embrace.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "Awake?" asked Mrs. Mortimer's voice from the shadow above the locker.
Chapter 9 of True Tilda by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 166 sentences of True Tilda, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of True Tilda by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 True Tilda by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6332 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12316 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12316, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 527 minutes of reading across 1267 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through True Tilda section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of True Tilda 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 True Tilda, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
