Chapter 17 of Following the Equator is here in full — 708 sentences across 142 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Following the Equator is here in full — 708 sentences across 142 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. —Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar. FROM DIARY: February 14. We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
Chapter 17 of Following the Equator is here in full — 708 sentences across 142 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/141 · 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 system of timekeeping that defines the beginning and length and divisions of the year
From this reading “—Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.”
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading “FROM DIARY: February 14.”
the month following January and preceding March
From this reading “FROM DIARY: February 14.”
Not allowed; banned or prohibited by rule or law.
From this reading “There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.”
an Asian river; rises in the Himalayas and flows east into the Bay of Bengal; a sacred river of the Hindus
From this reading “We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.”
directly and without evasion; not roundabout
From this reading “There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.”
all the plant life in a particular region or period
From this reading “We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.”
possessive form of “wilson” — author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870)
From this reading “—Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.”
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 FROM DIARY: February 14.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
have
From this reading Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
a system of timekeeping that defines the beginning and length and divisions of the year
From this reading —Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
placed crosswise
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
From this reading FROM DIARY: February 14.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality
From this reading Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
the month following January and preceding March
From this reading FROM DIARY: February 14.
Not allowed; banned or prohibited by rule or law.
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
plural of “form” — the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading FROM DIARY: February 14.
an Asian river; rises in the Himalayas and flows east into the Bay of Bengal; a sacred river of the Hindus
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading —Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
and nothing more
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading —Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.
possessing material wealth
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
directly and without evasion; not roundabout
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There are 869 different forms of lying, but only one of them has been squarely forbidden.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
up to a particular time
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
all the plant life in a particular region or period
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We left at 4:30 P.M. Until dark we moved through rich vegetation, then changed to a boat and crossed the Ganges.
possessive form of “wilson” — author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870)
From this reading —Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.
someone who sees an event and reports what happened
From this reading Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Chapter 17 of Following the Equator by Mark Twain holds 708 sentences, grouped into 142 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 17 holds 708 sentences of Following the Equator, unabridged, divided into 142 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Following the Equator by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 708 sentences, grouped into 142 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 142 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 142 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 17 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 Following the Equator by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9162 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2895 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2895, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1833 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Following the Equator section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Following the Equator 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 Following the Equator, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
