Chapter XVIII of Cease Firing, “Three Oaks,” is here in full — 286 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XVIII of Cease Firing, “Three Oaks,” is here in full — 286 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air. The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light. The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood. The sunlight was as fine as old Canary. _Caw!
Chapter XVIII of Cease Firing, “Three Oaks,” is here in full — 286 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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 yellow color
From this reading “The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light.”
someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
From this reading “The sunlight was as fine as old Canary.”
utter a cry, characteristic of crows, rooks, or ravens
rural regions
From this reading “The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.”
a preparation (usually made of sweetened chicle) for chewing
From this reading “The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.”
wood of any of various maple trees; especially the hard close-grained wood of the sugar maple; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading “The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.”
unhurried and relaxed
From this reading “The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.”
plural of “vale” — a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading “The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light.”
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 maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.”
any of various trees of the genera Eucalyptus or Liquidambar or Nyssa that are sources of gum
In this reading “The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.”
In this reading “The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.”
In this reading “The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.”
In this reading “The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.”
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.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.
a deep yellow color
From this reading The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
the season when the leaves fall from the trees
From this reading The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.
The red fluid that circulates in the heart and blood vessels.
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
From this reading The sunlight was as fine as old Canary.
utter a cry, characteristic of crows, rooks, or ravens
From this reading _Caw!
characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for
From this reading The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light.
an event that involves rising to a higher point (as in altitude or temperature or intensity etc.)
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light.
rural regions
From this reading The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading The sunlight was as fine as old Canary.
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
a preparation (usually made of sweetened chicle) for chewing
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light.
wood of any of various maple trees; especially the hard close-grained wood of the sugar maple; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
unhurried and relaxed
From this reading The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.
plural of “mountain” — a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The sunlight was as fine as old Canary.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
a variable color that is vivid red but sometimes with an orange tinge
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
a shrub or tree of the genus Rhus (usually limited to the non-poisonous members of the genus)
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
the rays of the sun
From this reading The sunlight was as fine as old Canary.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.
plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
plural of “vale” — a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading The mountains hung like clouds; the vales cherished the amber light.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading The countryside lay warm and mellow in the early autumn air.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The maple leaves were turning; out on the edge of climbing fields the sumach was growing scarlet, the gum trees red as blood.
Chapter 18 of Cease Firing by Mary Johnston holds 286 sentences, grouped into 58 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 286 sentences of Cease Firing, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Cease Firing by Mary Johnston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 286 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 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.
