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Chapter 9 of Waifs and strays [part 1] is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Waifs and strays [part 1] is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Dinner,” remarked George. He was standing just behind the Frenchman’s ear. His eyes looked straight into the school-teacher’s eyes. After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.” Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.
Chapter 9 of Waifs and strays [part 1] is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
From this reading “Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.”
containing flint
From this reading “After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.””
turned into ice; affected by freezing or by long and severe cold
From this reading “After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.””
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.”
A powerful whirlpool in the sea or a river; a state of confused turmoil.
From this reading “After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.””
(of pain or sorrow) made easier to bear
From this reading “Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.”
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.””
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading “After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.””
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.
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
From this reading Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.
later than; following
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
at or toward the back of something
From this reading He was standing just behind the Frenchman’s ear.
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading “Dinner,” remarked George.
the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading He was standing just behind the Frenchman’s ear.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His eyes looked straight into the school-teacher’s eyes.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.
containing flint
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was standing just behind the Frenchman’s ear.
turned into ice; affected by freezing or by long and severe cold
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading “Dinner,” remarked George.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was standing just behind the Frenchman’s ear.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His eyes looked straight into the school-teacher’s eyes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading His eyes looked straight into the school-teacher’s eyes.
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.
and nothing more
From this reading He was standing just behind the Frenchman’s ear.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading His eyes looked straight into the school-teacher’s eyes.
A powerful whirlpool in the sea or a river; a state of confused turmoil.
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
(of pain or sorrow) made easier to bear
From this reading Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading “Dinner,” remarked George.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His eyes looked straight into the school-teacher’s eyes.
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
having a supporting base
From this reading He was standing just behind the Frenchman’s ear.
successive (without a break)
From this reading His eyes looked straight into the school-teacher’s eyes.
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was standing just behind the Frenchman’s ear.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Miss Adams jumped to her feet, relieved.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was standing just behind the Frenchman’s ear.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading After thirty seconds of survey, his lips moved, deep in the flinty, frozen maelstrom of his face: “Dinner,” he concluded, “will be ready in two minutes.”
Chapter 9 of Waifs and strays [part 1] by O. Henry holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 197 sentences of Waifs and strays [part 1], unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Waifs and strays [part 1] by O. Henry exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Waifs and strays [part 1] by O. Henry on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1835 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2295 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2295, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 152 minutes of reading across 367 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Waifs and strays [part 1] section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Waifs and strays [part 1] 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 Waifs and strays [part 1], each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
