Chapter 7 of Hoofbeats on the Turnpike is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Hoofbeats on the Turnpike is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You're scared," Penny amended. "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back." The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill. The old lady allowed her horse to take his time. Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.
Chapter 7 of Hoofbeats on the Turnpike is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
of legislation
From this reading “"You're scared," Penny amended.”
the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians
From this reading “The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.”
to certain extent or degree
From this reading “Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.”
British artist and writer of nonsense verse (1812-1888)
From this reading “The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.”
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading “"You're scared," Penny amended.”
made afraid
From this reading “"You're scared," Penny amended.”
having a sharp inclination
From this reading “The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.”
against difficulties
From this reading “The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.”
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.
your own wife
In this reading “The old lady allowed her horse to take his time.”
retrace one's course
In this reading “"Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."”
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “"Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."”
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 The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
past form of “allow” — make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading The old lady allowed her horse to take his time.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
of legislation
From this reading "You're scared," Penny amended.
the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
divisible by two
From this reading Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The old lady allowed her horse to take his time.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The old lady allowed her horse to take his time.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading The old lady allowed her horse to take his time.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
and nothing more
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading The old lady allowed her horse to take his time.
British artist and writer of nonsense verse (1812-1888)
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old lady allowed her horse to take his time.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading "You're scared," Penny amended.
compacted by ironing
From this reading Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.
made afraid
From this reading "You're scared," Penny amended.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
having a sharp inclination
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
carry out
From this reading The old lady allowed her horse to take his time.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The old lady allowed her horse to take his time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
against difficulties
From this reading The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, so am I. But it's just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You're scared," Penny amended.
Chapter 7 of Hoofbeats on the Turnpike by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 411 sentences of Hoofbeats on the Turnpike, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Hoofbeats on the Turnpike by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Hoofbeats on the Turnpike by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4142 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34691 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34691, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 345 minutes of reading across 829 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hoofbeats on the Turnpike section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Hoofbeats on the Turnpike 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 Hoofbeats on the Turnpike, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
