Chapter 9 of Main Street is here in full — 249 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Main Street is here in full — 249 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves. There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders. She was surrounded by fangs and sneering eyes. She could not go on enduring the hidden derision. She wanted to flee.
Chapter 9 of Main Street is here in full — 249 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
contemptuous laughter
From this reading “She could not go on enduring the hidden derision.”
relating to the process of education
From this reading “I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.”
lasting a long time
From this reading “She could not go on enduring the hidden derision.”
plural of “fang” — a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon
From this reading “She was surrounded by fangs and sneering eyes.”
run away quickly
From this reading “She wanted to flee.”
plural of “lamb” — young sheep
From this reading “I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.”
expressive of contempt
From this reading “She was surrounded by fangs and sneering eyes.”
inflected form of “trip” — miss a step and fall or nearly fall
From this reading “I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.”
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 SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading She was surrounded by fangs and sneering eyes.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading She could not go on enduring the hidden derision.
an artistic form of nonverbal communication
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
contemptuous laughter
From this reading She could not go on enduring the hidden derision.
relating to the process of education
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
lasting a long time
From this reading She could not go on enduring the hidden derision.
opinion or judgment
From this reading She was surrounded by fangs and sneering eyes.
plural of “fang” — a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon
From this reading She was surrounded by fangs and sneering eyes.
run away quickly
From this reading She wanted to flee.
set up or found
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She could not go on enduring the hidden derision.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
not accessible to view
From this reading She could not go on enduring the hidden derision.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
plural of “lamb” — young sheep
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She could not go on enduring the hidden derision.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She could not go on enduring the hidden derision.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders.
the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure
From this reading There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders.
expressive of contempt
From this reading She was surrounded by fangs and sneering eyes.
confined on all sides
From this reading She was surrounded by fangs and sneering eyes.
impart skills or knowledge to
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
inflected form of “trip” — miss a step and fall or nearly fall
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading She wanted to flee.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading There was no way out between their pressing gray shoulders.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
plural of “wolf” — any of various predatory carnivorous canine mammals of North America and Eurasia that usually hunt in packs
From this reading I SHE had tripped into the meadow to teach the lambs a pretty educational dance and found that the lambs were wolves.
Chapter 9 of Main Street by Sinclair Lewis holds 249 sentences, grouped into 50 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 249 sentences of Main Street, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Main Street by Sinclair Lewis exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 249 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 Main Street by Sinclair Lewis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11763 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #543 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #543, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2353 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Main Street section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Main Street 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 Main Street, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
