Chapter 11 of Bloom of Cactus is here in full — 175 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Bloom of Cactus is here in full — 175 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight. Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown. "Oh! oh, Jack!" she cried. "What is it? You look so cross!
Chapter 11 of Bloom of Cactus is here in full — 175 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
befitting a young child
From this reading “CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.”
plural of “cliff” — a steep high face of rock
From this reading “CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.”
move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.”
plural of “current” — a flow of electricity through a conductor
From this reading “CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.”
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.”
possessive form of “lennon” — English rock star and guitarist and songwriter who with Paul McCartney wrote most of the music for the Beatles (1940-1980)
From this reading “Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.”
-ing form of “retreat” — pull back or move away or backward
From this reading “CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.”
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading “Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
befitting a young child
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
plural of “cliff” — a steep high face of rock
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Oh! oh, Jack!" she cried.
travel across or pass over
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
plural of “current” — a flow of electricity through a conductor
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
opinion or judgment
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What is it?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "What is it?
a small worthless amount
From this reading "Oh! oh, Jack!" she cried.
immediately past
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
possessive form of “lennon” — English rock star and guitarist and songwriter who with Paul McCartney wrote most of the music for the Beatles (1940-1980)
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading You look so cross!
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh! oh, Jack!" she cried.
-ing form of “retreat” — pull back or move away or backward
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
cut with a saw
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading You look so cross!
the rays of the sun
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Drawn at last by Lennon's tense silence, she looked up and saw his frown.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading CROSS CURRENTS Elsie's childlike eyes had been watching the evening shadow of the cliffs creep along the valley after the retreating sunlight.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What is it?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You look so cross!
Chapter 11 of Bloom of Cactus by Robert Ames Bennet holds 175 sentences, grouped into 35 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 11 holds 175 sentences of Bloom of Cactus, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Bloom of Cactus by Robert Ames Bennet exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 175 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 11 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 Bloom of Cactus by Robert Ames Bennet on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4237 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22270 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22270, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 353 minutes of reading across 848 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bloom of Cactus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Bloom of Cactus 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 Bloom of Cactus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
