Chapter 17 of At the Crossroads is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of At the Crossroads is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business. He outlined a programme and demanded silence. "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley. I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always. Just consider yourself my superintendent."
Chapter 17 of At the Crossroads is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/61 · 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.
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “"I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.”
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading “"I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.”
deem to be
From this reading “Just consider yourself my superintendent."”
kindness in welcoming guests or strangers
From this reading “Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.”
showing clearly the outline or profile or boundary
From this reading “He outlined a programme and demanded silence.”
a humble request for help from someone in authority
From this reading “Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.”
an announcement of the events that will occur as part of a theatrical or sporting event
From this reading “He outlined a programme and demanded silence.”
a person who directs and manages an organization
From this reading “Just consider yourself my superintendent."”
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.
move away from a place into another direction
In this reading “"I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.”
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 outlined a programme and demanded silence.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He outlined a programme and demanded silence.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.
put or send forth
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.
deem to be
From this reading Just consider yourself my superintendent."
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading He outlined a programme and demanded silence.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.
the act of departing
From this reading "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He outlined a programme and demanded silence.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
kindness in welcoming guests or strangers
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.
and nothing more
From this reading Just consider yourself my superintendent."
go away from a place
From this reading I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Just consider yourself my superintendent."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
showing clearly the outline or profile or boundary
From this reading He outlined a programme and demanded silence.
by chance
From this reading I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always.
a humble request for help from someone in authority
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.
an announcement of the events that will occur as part of a theatrical or sporting event
From this reading He outlined a programme and demanded silence.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading He outlined a programme and demanded silence.
a person who directs and manages an organization
From this reading Just consider yourself my superintendent."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm going to buy this Point," he confided, "and I'm going to go away, Twombley.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
up to a particular time
From this reading I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading I'm going to leave things exactly as they are until--well, perhaps always.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Northrup had cast himself upon Twombley's hospitality with the plea of business.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading Just consider yourself my superintendent."
Chapter 17 of At the Crossroads by Harriet T. (Harriet Theresa) Comstock holds 305 sentences, grouped into 61 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 17 holds 305 sentences of At the Crossroads, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of At the Crossroads by Harriet T. (Harriet Theresa) Comstock exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 305 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 17 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.
