Chapter 7 of At the Back of the North Wind is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of At the Back of the North Wind is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome. Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him. “Is the storm over, North Wind?” he called out. “No, Diamond.
Chapter 7 of At the Back of the North Wind is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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 event consisting of the start of something
From this reading “Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.”
represented in words especially with sharpness and detail
From this reading “I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.”
-ing form of “describe” — give a description of
From this reading “I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.”
a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading “Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.”
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading “Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.”
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading ““Is the storm over, North Wind?””
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
From this reading “I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.”
possessive form of “wind” — air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading “Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading he called out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
represented in words especially with sharpness and detail
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
-ing form of “describe” — give a description of
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading he called out.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
and nothing more
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
not any; not one
From this reading “No, Diamond.
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading he called out.
above and across; more than
From this reading “Is the storm over, North Wind?”
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading “Is the storm over, North Wind?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I MUST not go on describing what cannot be described, for nothing is more wearisome.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading “Is the storm over, North Wind?”
possessive form of “wind” — air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading Before they reached the sea, Diamond felt North Wind's hair just beginning to fall about him.
Chapter 7 of At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald holds 171 sentences, grouped into 35 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 7 holds 171 sentences of At the Back of the North Wind, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 171 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 7 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 At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6064 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #225 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #225, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 505 minutes of reading across 1213 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through At the Back of the North Wind section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of At the Back of the North Wind 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 At the Back of the North Wind, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
