Chapter VI of Cease Firing, “The River,” is here in full — 306 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter VI of Cease Firing, “The River,” is here in full — 306 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young. “It ain’t easy, marster,” said the first. “River’s on er rampage. Jes’ er-look how she’s swirlin’ an’ spittin’ an’ sayin’ things! An’ erbout every day now dar’s er crevasse!
Chapter VI of Cease Firing, “The River,” is here in full — 306 sentences across 62 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.
a deep fissure
From this reading “An’ erbout every day now dar’s er crevasse!”
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading ““It ain’t easy, marster,” said the first.”
having or given a form or shape
From this reading “The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.”
extremely well
From this reading “The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.”
being roughly between 45 and 65 years old
From this reading “The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.”
plural of “negro” — a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today
From this reading “The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.”
violently angry and destructive behavior
From this reading ““River’s on er rampage.”
possessive form of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
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 two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It ain’t easy, marster,” said the first.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Jes’ er-look how she’s swirlin’ an’ spittin’ an’ sayin’ things!
a deep fissure
From this reading An’ erbout every day now dar’s er crevasse!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An’ erbout every day now dar’s er crevasse!
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading An’ erbout every day now dar’s er crevasse!
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading “It ain’t easy, marster,” said the first.
a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs with yttrium
From this reading “River’s on er rampage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jes’ er-look how she’s swirlin’ an’ spittin’ an’ sayin’ things!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An’ erbout every day now dar’s er crevasse!
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading An’ erbout every day now dar’s er crevasse!
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading “It ain’t easy, marster,” said the first.
having or given a form or shape
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jes’ er-look how she’s swirlin’ an’ spittin’ an’ sayin’ things!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It ain’t easy, marster,” said the first.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jes’ er-look how she’s swirlin’ an’ spittin’ an’ sayin’ things!
extremely well
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It ain’t easy, marster,” said the first.
the force of workers available
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
being roughly between 45 and 65 years old
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
plural of “negro” — a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading An’ erbout every day now dar’s er crevasse!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “River’s on er rampage.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
violently angry and destructive behavior
From this reading “River’s on er rampage.
possessive form of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading “River’s on er rampage.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It ain’t easy, marster,” said the first.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jes’ er-look how she’s swirlin’ an’ spittin’ an’ sayin’ things!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jes’ er-look how she’s swirlin’ an’ spittin’ an’ sayin’ things!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jes’ er-look how she’s swirlin’ an’ spittin’ an’ sayin’ things!
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jes’ er-look how she’s swirlin’ an’ spittin’ an’ sayin’ things!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Jes’ er-look how she’s swirlin’ an’ spittin’ an’ sayin’ things!
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The two men were strong, magnificently formed negroes, one middle-aged, one young.
Chapter 6 of Cease Firing by Mary Johnston holds 306 sentences, grouped into 62 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 6 holds 306 sentences of Cease Firing, unabridged, divided into 62 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Cease Firing by Mary Johnston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 306 sentences, grouped into 62 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 62 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 62 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 6 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 Cease Firing by Mary Johnston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11895 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52154 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52154, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2379 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cease Firing section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Cease Firing 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 Cease Firing, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
