Chapter 6 of At the Crossroads is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of At the Crossroads is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use. He outlined his plot; read and worked. He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest. "He's writing a book!" Aunt Polly confided to Peter.
Chapter 6 of At the Crossroads is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
according with custom or propriety
From this reading “He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.”
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading “Aunt Polly confided to Peter.”
within a building
From this reading “The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.”
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading “He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.”
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading “He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.”
showing clearly the outline or profile or boundary
From this reading “He outlined his plot; read and worked.”
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
From this reading “He outlined his plot; read and worked.”
expressed without speech
From this reading “He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.”
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 “The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.”
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 "He's writing a book!"
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He outlined his plot; read and worked.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Aunt Polly confided to Peter.
according with custom or propriety
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading "He's writing a book!"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading Aunt Polly confided to Peter.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "He's writing a book!"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He outlined his plot; read and worked.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
within a building
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
a sense of concern with and curiosity about someone or something
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
showing clearly the outline or profile or boundary
From this reading He outlined his plot; read and worked.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading Aunt Polly confided to Peter.
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
From this reading He outlined his plot; read and worked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aunt Polly confided to Peter.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading He outlined his plot; read and worked.
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
expressed without speech
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
the act of using
From this reading The storm had kept Northrup indoors for many hours each day, but he had put those hours to good use.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He felt that he was becoming part of the quiet life of the inn and the Forest, but more and more he was becoming an object of intense but unspoken interest.
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading He outlined his plot; read and worked.
the act of creating written works
From this reading "He's writing a book!"
Chapter 6 of At the Crossroads by Harriet T. (Harriet Theresa) Comstock holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 6 holds 410 sentences of At the Crossroads, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of At the Crossroads by Harriet T. (Harriet Theresa) Comstock exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 6 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 Crossroads by Harriet T. (Harriet Theresa) Comstock on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7315 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30095 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30095, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1463 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through At the Crossroads section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of At the Crossroads 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 Crossroads, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
