Chapter 7 of Ma Pettengill is here in full — 412 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 Ma Pettengill is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness. "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead. Now that's settled!" And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering. I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
Chapter 7 of Ma Pettengill is here in full — 412 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.
the pointed head or striking tip of an arrow
From this reading “"Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.”
past form of “boom” — make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading “"Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness.”
the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white
From this reading “"Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness.”
inflected form of “dispel” — force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric meanings
From this reading “"Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness.”
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading “And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering.”
an organization of missionaries in a foreign land sent to carry on religious work
From this reading “I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.”
plural of “neighbour” — a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading “I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.”
an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event
From this reading “I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.”
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 began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering.
the pointed head or striking tip of an arrow
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
past form of “boom” — make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading "Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness.
the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white
From this reading "Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
inflected form of “dispel” — force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric meanings
From this reading "Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness.
let fall to the ground
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering.
a group of persons together in one place
From this reading And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading "Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness.
an organization of missionaries in a foreign land sent to carry on religious work
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
plural of “neighbour” — a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
a message that seems to convey no meaning
From this reading "Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now that's settled!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering.
above and across; more than
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nonsense!" boomed Ma Pettengill, dispelling his brightness.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering.
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading Now that's settled!"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now that's settled!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
in every part of a place, or for the whole of a period
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
produced without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading And we rode off as unvoiced expostulations were gathering.
at the time that
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading I began to wonder whether it must, throughout a beautiful day, be the stern mission of this woman to put tribulation upon her neighbours.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Addie can drop you at Snell's when she comes over to Arrowhead.
Chapter 7 of Ma Pettengill by Harry Leon Wilson holds 412 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 412 sentences of Ma Pettengill, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Ma Pettengill by Harry Leon Wilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 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 Ma Pettengill by Harry Leon Wilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5338 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14348 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14348, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 444 minutes of reading across 1068 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ma Pettengill section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Ma Pettengill 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 Ma Pettengill, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
