Chapter 18 of Across the Mesa is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Across the Mesa is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts. "Dark as a pocket," commented Tom. "You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back." From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house. "Hullo, what have we here?" ejaculated the engineer.
Chapter 18 of Across the Mesa is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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 capital and largest city of Greece; named after Athena (its patron goddess)
From this reading “BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.”
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading “"Dark as a pocket," commented Tom.”
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading “"Hullo, what have we here?" ejaculated the engineer.”
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading “From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.”
experiencing or showing fear
From this reading “BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.”
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading “BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.”
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading “"Dark as a pocket," commented Tom.”
capable of being seen; or open to easy view
From this reading “From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.”
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.
put down in writing; of texts, musical compositions, etc.
In this reading “"You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."”
be sufficient
In this reading “"You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."”
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 "Dark as a pocket," commented Tom.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading "You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Dark as a pocket," commented Tom.
the capital and largest city of Greece; named after Athena (its patron goddess)
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading "Dark as a pocket," commented Tom.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading "Dark as a pocket," commented Tom.
a room used for dining
From this reading From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hullo, what have we here?" ejaculated the engineer.
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading "Hullo, what have we here?" ejaculated the engineer.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.
experiencing or showing fear
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Hullo, what have we here?" ejaculated the engineer.
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hullo, what have we here?" ejaculated the engineer.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading "Dark as a pocket," commented Tom.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
male cat
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
in the direction of
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
capable of being seen; or open to easy view
From this reading From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading From the side, a faint light was visible from the dining-room of the house.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Hullo, what have we here?" ejaculated the engineer.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Hullo, what have we here?" ejaculated the engineer.
during the time that
From this reading "You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."
in the company of; together with
From this reading BACK TO ATHENS Mendoza and Tom walked toward the Casa Grande ranch-house with fearful hearts.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You set down here, Mendoza, while I go around in back."
Chapter 18 of Across the Mesa by Helen Bagg holds 141 sentences, grouped into 29 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 18 holds 141 sentences of Across the Mesa, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Across the Mesa by Helen Bagg exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 141 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 18 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 Across the Mesa by Helen Bagg on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5976 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26984 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26984, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 498 minutes of reading across 1196 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Across the Mesa section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Across the Mesa 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 Across the Mesa, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
