Chapter 9 of Black April is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Black April is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Shucks!” Sherry answered, reloading his gun. “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!” “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough. Where’d you git de money to pay?”
Chapter 9 of Black April is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
a North American river; rises in southwestern Canada and flows southward across Washington to form the border between Washington and Oregon before emptying into the Pacific; known for its salmon runs in the spring
From this reading ““Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!””
a flour mixture stiff enough to knead or roll
From this reading ““If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.”
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading “Where’d you git de money to pay?””
dry to sweet amber wine from the Jerez region of southern Spain or similar wines produced elsewhere; usually drunk as an aperitif
From this reading “Sherry answered, reloading his gun.”
something of little value
From this reading ““Shucks!””
move stealthily
From this reading ““If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.”
The chief official or governor in charge of a prison institution.
From this reading ““If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.”
distant but within sight (“yon” is dialectal)
From this reading ““Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!””
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 ““Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!””
In this reading “Where’d you git de money to pay?””
In this reading ““Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!””
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.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Sherry answered, reloading his gun.
a North American river; rises in southwestern Canada and flows southward across Washington to form the border between Washington and Oregon before emptying into the Pacific; known for its salmon runs in the spring
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
a flour mixture stiff enough to knead or roll
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
a quad with a square body
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
your parents
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading Where’d you git de money to pay?”
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading Sherry answered, reloading his gun.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Sherry answered, reloading his gun.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
engage in
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading Where’d you git de money to pay?”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading Where’d you git de money to pay?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sherry answered, reloading his gun.
precisely, exactly
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
dry to sweet amber wine from the Jerez region of southern Spain or similar wines produced elsewhere; usually drunk as an aperitif
From this reading Sherry answered, reloading his gun.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
something of little value
From this reading “Shucks!”
move stealthily
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
The chief official or governor in charge of a prison institution.
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Where’d you git de money to pay?”
a Caucasian
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
hope for; have a wish
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
distant but within sight (“yon” is dialectal)
From this reading “Dem white folks way off yonder to Columbia sho’ do make some fool laws!”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If de game warden was to slip up on you right now you’d wish you had kept ’em, dough.
Chapter 9 of Black April by Julia Peterkin holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 9 holds 421 sentences of Black April, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Black April by Julia Peterkin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 9 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 Black April by Julia Peterkin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7944 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72611 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72611, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1589 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Black April section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Black April 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 Black April, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
