Chapter 7 of Children of the Desert is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Children of the Desert is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Peterson felt the dark shadow of Harboro immediately. He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight. "Hello!--HARBORO!" He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed. An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
Chapter 7 of Children of the Desert is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
past form of “exist” — have an existence, be extant
From this reading “He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed.”
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading “He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.”
an expression of greeting
From this reading “"Hello!--HARBORO!"”
not capable of being precisely or readily described; not easily put into words
From this reading “An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.”
given to inquiry
From this reading “He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.”
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading “An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.”
radiating or as if radiating light
From this reading “An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.”
inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life
From this reading “An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.”
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 “Peterson felt the dark shadow of Harboro immediately.”
In this reading “An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.”
seek information from
In this reading “He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.”
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 He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Peterson felt the dark shadow of Harboro immediately.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed.
past form of “exist” — have an existence, be extant
From this reading He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed.
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Peterson felt the dark shadow of Harboro immediately.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
in a grave and sober manner
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Peterson felt the dark shadow of Harboro immediately.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hello!--HARBORO!"
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading Peterson felt the dark shadow of Harboro immediately.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
not capable of being precisely or readily described; not easily put into words
From this reading An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
given to inquiry
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
for more time
From this reading He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
not any; not one
From this reading He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed.
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Peterson felt the dark shadow of Harboro immediately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Peterson felt the dark shadow of Harboro immediately.
radiating or as if radiating light
From this reading An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life
From this reading An almost indefinable change of expression occurred in his ruddy, radiant face.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading Peterson felt the dark shadow of Harboro immediately.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He dropped Sylvia's hand as if she no longer existed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Peterson felt the dark shadow of Harboro immediately.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading He looked up into the gravely inquiring face above him, and then he gave voice to a new delight.
Chapter 7 of Children of the Desert by Louis Dodge holds 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 7 holds 155 sentences of Children of the Desert, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Children of the Desert by Louis Dodge exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 7 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 Children of the Desert by Louis Dodge on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3566 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26550 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26550, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 297 minutes of reading across 714 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Children of the Desert section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of Children of the Desert 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 Children of the Desert, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
