Chapter 9 of Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt! is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt! is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
We heard the organ squeak. I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals. I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys. She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music. She had explained that to me lots of times.
Chapter 9 of Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt! is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 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.
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading “She had explained that to me lots of times.”
plural of “key” — metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading “I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.”
a large number or amount
From this reading “She had explained that to me lots of times.”
a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function
From this reading “We heard the organ squeak.”
plural of “pedal” — a sustained bass note
From this reading “I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.”
the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure
From this reading “I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.”
-ing form of “pump” — operate like a pump; move up and down, like a handle or a pedal
From this reading “I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.”
a short high-pitched noise
From this reading “We heard the organ squeak.”
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 I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading She had explained that to me lots of times.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading We heard the organ squeak.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music.
and nothing more
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
plural of “key” — metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
a large number or amount
From this reading She had explained that to me lots of times.
engage in
From this reading She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She had explained that to me lots of times.
an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
From this reading She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function
From this reading We heard the organ squeak.
plural of “pedal” — a sustained bass note
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
-ing form of “pump” — operate like a pump; move up and down, like a handle or a pedal
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
with speed
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
the quantity contained in a sack
From this reading She had to get a sackful of air into the organ before it could make music.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
a short high-pitched noise
From this reading We heard the organ squeak.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She had explained that to me lots of times.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We heard the organ squeak.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading She had explained that to me lots of times.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
look attentively
From this reading I turned quickly to watch Bess as she started pumping on the foot pedals.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We heard the organ squeak.
a Caucasian
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I knew she would wait just a little before she began pressing down the black and white keys.
Chapter 9 of Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt! by Jewell Ellen Smith holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 9 holds 403 sentences of Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt!, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt! by Jewell Ellen Smith exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 9 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 Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt! by Jewell Ellen Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5030 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2357 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2357, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 419 minutes of reading across 1006 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt! section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt! 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 Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt!, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
