Chapter 15 of Black April is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Black April is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
That day was as long as a week. The sun hung still for hours at a time. There was scarcely a breath of wind. Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds. Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
Chapter 15 of Black April is here in full — 423 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.
plural of “bed” — a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading “Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.”
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
From this reading “Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.”
in a gradual manner
From this reading “Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.”
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading “The sun hung still for hours at a time.”
only a very short time before
From this reading “There was scarcely a breath of wind.”
institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against
From this reading “Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.”
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.”
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.”
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 sun hung still for hours at a time.”
simultaneously
In this reading “The sun hung still for hours at a time.”
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 That day was as long as a week.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
Having no one else present.
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading That day was as long as a week.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The sun hung still for hours at a time.
plural of “bed” — a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
the two together, not just one
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading There was scarcely a breath of wind.
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading That day was as long as a week.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The sun hung still for hours at a time.
in a gradual manner
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading The sun hung still for hours at a time.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading The sun hung still for hours at a time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading That day was as long as a week.
not any; not one
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was scarcely a breath of wind.
on one occasion
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
only a very short time before
From this reading There was scarcely a breath of wind.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
a male human offspring
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
not in physical motion
From this reading The sun hung still for hours at a time.
institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading The sun hung still for hours at a time.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That day was as long as a week.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The sun hung still for hours at a time.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was scarcely a breath of wind.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The sun hung still for hours at a time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Breeze was afraid to stay alone, and both Joy and Big Sue kept to their beds.
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That day was as long as a week.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading That day was as long as a week.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading There was scarcely a breath of wind.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Once he whispered, “Joy, is you sleepin’?” and she answered gently: “No, son, I’m wake.
Chapter 15 of Black April by Julia Peterkin holds 423 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 15 holds 423 sentences of Black April, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Black April by Julia Peterkin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 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 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 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.
