Chapter 18 of Black April is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Black April is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus. “Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!” “Lawd, dat news sho’ do surprise me!” “T’ink o’ Sherry takin’ a wife in dat strange country!” “Lawd, dat boy done fast work!
Chapter 18 of Black April is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
any utterance produced simultaneously by a group
From this reading “Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.”
a digital tape recording of sound
From this reading ““Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!””
United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters
From this reading ““Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!””
past form of “joke” — tell a joke; speak humorously
From this reading “Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.”
possessive form of “joy” — the emotion of great happiness
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 ““Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!””
past form of “stiffen” — become stiff or stiffer
From this reading “Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.”
past form of “widen” — become broader or wider or more extensive
From this reading “Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.”
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.
be beset by
In this reading “Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.”
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 “T’ink o’ Sherry takin’ a wife in dat strange country!”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
a youthful male person
From this reading “Lawd, dat boy done fast work!
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
any utterance produced simultaneously by a group
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading “T’ink o’ Sherry takin’ a wife in dat strange country!”
a digital tape recording of sound
From this reading “Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Lawd, dat news sho’ do surprise me!”
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading “Lawd, dat boy done fast work!
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading “Lawd, dat boy done fast work!
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters
From this reading “Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “T’ink o’ Sherry takin’ a wife in dat strange country!”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
past form of “joke” — tell a joke; speak humorously
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
possessive form of “joy” — the emotion of great happiness
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Lawd, dat news sho’ do surprise me!”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Lawd, dat news sho’ do surprise me!”
information about recent and important events
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading “T’ink o’ Sherry takin’ a wife in dat strange country!”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
above and across; more than
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
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 “Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Lawd, dat news sho’ do surprise me!”
plural of “side” — a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
past form of “stiffen” — become stiff or stiffer
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading “T’ink o’ Sherry takin’ a wife in dat strange country!”
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading “Lawd, dat news sho’ do surprise me!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “T’ink o’ Sherry takin’ a wife in dat strange country!”
large heavily built goat antelope of eastern Himalayan area
From this reading “T’ink o’ Sherry takin’ a wife in dat strange country!”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
up to a particular time
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
plural of “voice” — the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
past form of “widen” — become broader or wider or more extensive
From this reading Joy’s body stiffened, her eyes widened, her arms fell to her sides, but the others laughed and joked over the news until their voices ran into an excited chorus.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “T’ink o’ Sherry takin’ a wife in dat strange country!”
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading “Lawd, dat boy done fast work!
produce a literary work
From this reading “Write Sherry to bring dat gal on home!”
Chapter 18 of Black April by Julia Peterkin holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 18 holds 415 sentences of Black April, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Black April by Julia Peterkin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 18 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.
