Chapter 11 of A First Family of Tasajara is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of A First Family of Tasajara is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles! Where did you leave your party?” His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought. She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads. I see now I took the wrong turning.”
Chapter 11 of A First Family of Tasajara is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
cutlery used for serving and eating food
From this reading “She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.”
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading ““Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!”
(used of persons and their behavior) cultivated and genteel
From this reading “His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.”
a partly sheltered anchorage
From this reading “She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.”
in a spontaneous manner
From this reading “She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.”
an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion
From this reading ““Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!”
having won
From this reading “His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.”
suggestive of youth; vigorous and fresh
From this reading ““Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!”
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 She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Where did you leave your party?”
divisible by two
From this reading His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
cutlery used for serving and eating food
From this reading She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I see now I took the wrong turning.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
go away from a place
From this reading Where did you leave your party?”
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I see now I took the wrong turning.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
an organization to gain political power
From this reading Where did you leave your party?”
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.
(used of persons and their behavior) cultivated and genteel
From this reading His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.
precisely, exactly
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
a partly sheltered anchorage
From this reading She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I see now I took the wrong turning.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.
in a spontaneous manner
From this reading She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.
an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading I see now I took the wrong turning.”
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading I see now I took the wrong turning.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading She answered it quite spontaneously: “At a fork of two roads.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.
in or at the place that
From this reading Where did you leave your party?”
having won
From this reading His voice was winning, and even refined, she thought.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading I see now I took the wrong turning.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Where did you leave your party?”
suggestive of youth; vigorous and fresh
From this reading “Oh, you have left San Mateo miles away to the right,” he said with quick youthful sympathy, “at least five miles!
Chapter 11 of A First Family of Tasajara by Bret Harte holds 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 11 holds 181 sentences of A First Family of Tasajara, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of A First Family of Tasajara by Bret Harte exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 11 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 A First Family of Tasajara by Bret Harte on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2851 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2723 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2723, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 237 minutes of reading across 571 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A First Family of Tasajara section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of A First Family of Tasajara 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 A First Family of Tasajara, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
