Chapter 9 of Voices from the Past is here in full — 405 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 Voices from the Past is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts. The past can be a simoom. Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems. When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed. There was no more.
Chapter 9 of Voices from the Past is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
plural of “ghost” — a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading “Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.”
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading “Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.”
A viscous liquid derived from petroleum or plants, stored in large earthen jars.
From this reading “When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.”
plural of “problem” — a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading “Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.”
the act of storing something
From this reading “When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.”
possessive form of “today” — the present time or age
rub with a circular motion
From this reading “Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.”
possessive form of “yesterday” — the day immediately before today
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 “Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.”
In this reading “Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.”
use up (resources or materials)
In this reading “Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.”
In this reading “Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.”
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 past can be a simoom.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The past can be a simoom.
treated by heating to a high temperature but below the melting or fusing point
From this reading When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading The past can be a simoom.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.
plural of “ghost” — a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.
immediately past
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
by chance
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading There was no more.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no more.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
A viscous liquid derived from petroleum or plants, stored in large earthen jars.
From this reading When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading The past can be a simoom.
plural of “problem” — a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
get rid of
From this reading When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.
a violent hot sand-laden wind on the deserts of Arabia and North Africa
From this reading The past can be a simoom.
the act of storing something
From this reading When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no more.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Last night I lay awake most of the night, haunted by these ghosts.
a special situation
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.
possessive form of “today” — the present time or age
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading When the oil in the lamp burned out I tried to find oil in the storage shed.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no more.
at the time that
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
rub with a circular motion
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
possessive form of “yesterday” — the day immediately before today
From this reading Maybe it is a good thing when today’s problems wipe out yesterday’s problems.
Chapter 9 of Voices from the Past by Paul Alexander Bartlett holds 405 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 405 sentences of Voices from the Past, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Voices from the Past by Paul Alexander Bartlett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 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 Voices from the Past by Paul Alexander Bartlett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11644 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39468 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39468, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2329 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Voices from the Past section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Voices from the Past 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 Voices from the Past, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
