Chapter 18 of Downstream is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Downstream is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Then they returned home. Dinner was quite festive. Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose. It was of no importance that her fingers were sooty. Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
Chapter 18 of Downstream is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 former province of eastern France that is famous for its wines
From this reading “Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.”
formed or developed from something else; not original
From this reading “Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.”
offering fun and gaiety
From this reading “Dinner was quite festive.”
tastelessly showy
From this reading “Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.”
consisting of fine particles
From this reading “Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.”
plural of “rag” — a small piece of cloth or paper
From this reading “Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.”
of the blackest black; similar to the color of jet or coal
From this reading “It was of no importance that her fingers were sooty.”
a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
From this reading “Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.”
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 “Then they returned home.”
put clothing on one's body
In this reading “Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice
From this reading Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
a former province of eastern France that is famous for its wines
From this reading Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
formed or developed from something else; not original
From this reading Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading Dinner was quite festive.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
offering fun and gaiety
From this reading Dinner was quite festive.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading It was of no importance that her fingers were sooty.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
tastelessly showy
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Then they returned home.
the state of being honored
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
the quality of being important and worthy of note
From this reading It was of no importance that her fingers were sooty.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was of no importance that her fingers were sooty.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
not any; not one
From this reading It was of no importance that her fingers were sooty.
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
an event that occurs at a critical time
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
consisting of fine particles
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
a feeling of self-respect and personal worth
From this reading Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading Dinner was quite festive.
plural of “rag” — a small piece of cloth or paper
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Then they returned home.
a fabric made from the fine threads produced by certain insect larvae
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
of the blackest black; similar to the color of jet or coal
From this reading It was of no importance that her fingers were sooty.
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was of no importance that her fingers were sooty.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dagmar had, in honour of the occasion, put on some gaudy silk rags and had powdered her nose.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then they returned home.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then they returned home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Dinner was quite festive.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading It was of no importance that her fingers were sooty.
a liquor made from fermented mash of grain
From this reading Tord’s excited pride derived new strength from the burgundy, the brandy, and the whiskey.
Chapter 18 of Downstream by Sigfrid Siwertz holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of Downstream, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Downstream by Sigfrid Siwertz exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Downstream by Sigfrid Siwertz on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9414 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60685 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60685, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1883 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Downstream section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Downstream 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 Downstream, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
