Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Free Air
Free Air

Chapter XIX

Chapter 19 of Free Air is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Sinclair Lewis • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for Free Air
Context Illustration Reading 1/46 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.
She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.
She wished for Milt.
She would never see him again.
She was sorry.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Free Air

Chapter XIX

Chapter 19 of Free Air is here in full — 232 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/46 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.
Line 2
She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.
Line 3
She wished for Milt.
/ʃiː wɪʃt fɔːr mɪlt/
Line 4
She would never see him again.
/ʃiː wʊd ˈnevər siː hɪm əˈɡen/
Line 5
She was sorry.
/ʃiː wɑːz ˈsɑːri/

Learner Dictionary

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.

aviator noun US /ˈeɪvieɪtər/

someone who operates an aircraft

From this reading “THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Canyon noun US /ˈkænjən/

a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall

From this reading “THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
casing noun US /ˈkeɪsɪŋ/

the housing or outer covering of something

From this reading “She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
deflated adjective US /dɪˈfleɪtɪd/

brought low in spirit

From this reading “She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Idaho noun US /ˈaɪdəhoʊ/

a state in the Rocky Mountains

From this reading “THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Milt noun US /mɪlt/

fish sperm or sperm-filled reproductive gland; having a creamy texture

From this reading “She wished for Milt.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
nearing verb US /ˈnɪrɪŋ/

-ing form of “near” — move towards

From this reading “THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
tire verb US /ˈtaɪər/

lose interest or become bored with something or somebody

From this reading “She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

On the edge preposition + article + noun counted as “on … edge”

In this reading “THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.”

13,385 times in 426,211 chapters
for hours preposition + noun

In this reading “She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.”

11,150 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 51

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading She would never see him again.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
automobilistnoun

someone who drives (or travels in) an automobile

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
aviatornounUS /ˈeɪvieɪtər/

someone who operates an aircraft

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
blow-out

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

Pending verification
CanyonnounUS /ˈkænjən/

a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
casingnounUS /ˈkeɪsɪŋ/

the housing or outer covering of something

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
changeverbUS /tʃeɪndʒ/

cause to change; make different; cause a transformation

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Claire

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Pending verification
deflatedadjectiveUS /dɪˈfleɪtɪd/

brought low in spirit

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
delayedadjectiveUS /dɪˈleɪd/

not as far along as normal in development

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
drivenadjectiveUS /ˈdrɪvən/

compelled forcibly by an outside agency

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
edgenounUS /edʒ/

the boundary of a surface

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ENDLESSadjectiveUS /ˈendləs/

tiresomely long; seemingly without end

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
enteredverbUS /ˈentərd/

past form of “enter” — to come or go into

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
feelingnounUS /ˈfiːlɪŋ/

the experiencing of affective and emotional states

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
forestnounUS /ˈfɔːrəst/

the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading She would never see him again.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hoursnounUS /ˈaʊərz/

a period of time assigned for work

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
IdahonounUS /ˈaɪdəhoʊ/

a state in the Rocky Mountains

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Kootenai

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Pending verification
likeverbUS /laɪk/

prefer or wish to do something

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
MiltnounUS /mɪlt/

fish sperm or sperm-filled reproductive gland; having a creamy texture

From this reading She wished for Milt.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
nationaladjectiveUS /ˈnæʃənəl/

of or relating to or belonging to a nation or country

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
nearingverbUS /ˈnɪrɪŋ/

-ing form of “near” — move towards

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
neveradverbUS /ˈnevər/

not ever; at no time in the past or future

From this reading She would never see him again.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
NIGHTnounUS /naɪt/

the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
nowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
OnprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
PINESnounUS /paɪnz/

plural of “pine” — a coniferous tree

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
seeverbUS /siː/

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading She would never see him again.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
sorryadjectiveUS /ˈsɑːri/

feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone

From this reading She was sorry.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
spareverbUS /sper/

refrain from harming

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE NIGHT OF ENDLESS PINES On the edge of Kootenai Canyon, feeling more like an aviator than like an automobilist, Claire had driven, and now, nearing Idaho, she had entered a national forest.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
tireverbUS /ˈtaɪər/

lose interest or become bored with something or somebody

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
triedadjectiveUS /traɪd/

tested and proved useful or correct

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
whileconjunctionUS /waɪl/

during the time that

From this reading She was delayed for hours, while she tried to change a casing, after a blow-out when the spare tire was deflated.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
wishedverbUS /wɪʃt/

past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish

From this reading She wished for Milt.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading She would never see him again.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Chapter 19 of Free Air by Sinclair Lewis holds 232 sentences, grouped into 47 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.

What does chapter 19 of Free Air contain?

Chapter 19 holds 232 sentences of Free Air, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 19 of Free Air by Sinclair Lewis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 232 sentences, grouped into 47 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.

How do I study chapter 19 of Free Air?

Work through the 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 47 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.

Can chapter 19 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 19 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.

Questions about reading Free Air

Common questions about reading Free Air by Sinclair Lewis on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Free Air?

Yes. All 6146 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26732 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Free Air is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #26732, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Free Air take to read?

About 512 minutes of reading across 1230 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Free Air section by section

How to work through Free Air section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 34 chapters of Free Air to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Free Air

Words and structures a reader meets early in Free Air, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Free Air; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Windshield
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Free Air; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Closed
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Free Air; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Became
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Free Air; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.