Chapter 15 of At the Crossroads is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of At the Crossroads is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Hello, Rivers! I'm something of a surprise, eh?" "Hell!" The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow. A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.
Chapter 15 of At the Crossroads is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading “The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.”
responsible for or chargeable with a reprehensible act
From this reading “A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.”
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading “"Hell!"”
an expression of greeting
From this reading “"Hello, Rivers!”
plural of “imago” — (psychoanalysis) an idealized image of someone (usually a parent) formed in childhood
From this reading “A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.”
plural of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading “"Hello, Rivers!”
commanding attention
From this reading “The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.”
the least favorable outcome
From this reading “A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.”
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 “A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.”
In this reading “A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.”
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 I'm something of a surprise, eh?"
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.
exhale hard
From this reading The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm something of a surprise, eh?"
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.
responsible for or chargeable with a reprehensible act
From this reading A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading "Hell!"
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hello, Rivers!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm something of a surprise, eh?"
plural of “imago” — (psychoanalysis) an idealized image of someone (usually a parent) formed in childhood
From this reading A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I'm something of a surprise, eh?"
a human being
From this reading A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.
plural of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading "Hello, Rivers!
a thing, without saying which
From this reading I'm something of a surprise, eh?"
commanding attention
From this reading The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading I'm something of a surprise, eh?"
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading The word escaped Rivers as might a cry that followed a stunning blow.
the least favorable outcome
From this reading A guilty person, taken by surprise, always imagines the worst.
Chapter 15 of At the Crossroads by Harriet T. (Harriet Theresa) Comstock holds 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 15 holds 191 sentences of At the Crossroads, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of At the Crossroads by Harriet T. (Harriet Theresa) Comstock exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 15 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.
