Chapter 30 of Main Street is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter 30 of Main Street is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday. I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested. Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon. Won't you come, Mrs. Kennicott, and the doctor? Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.”
Chapter 30 of Main Street is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
United States film actor (1899-1957)
From this reading “Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.””
a very troublesome child
From this reading “Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.””
joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
From this reading “FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.”
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading “FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.”
a day devoted to an outdoor social gathering
From this reading “Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon.”
uttered in a shrill scream as of pain or terror
From this reading “FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.”
a brief indulgence of your impulses
From this reading “I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.”
plural of “start” — the beginning of anything
From this reading “FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.”
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 FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
past form of “arrest” — take into custody
From this reading I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.
United States film actor (1899-1957)
From this reading Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.”
a very troublesome child
From this reading Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.”
joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Won't you come, Mrs. Kennicott, and the doctor?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.”
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading Won't you come, Mrs. Kennicott, and the doctor?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.”
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.”
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Won't you come, Mrs. Kennicott, and the doctor?
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon.
full of life and energy
From this reading Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.”
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Won't you come, Mrs. Kennicott, and the doctor?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.
a day devoted to an outdoor social gathering
From this reading Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon.
done under pressure
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
an educational institution
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
the month following August and preceding October
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
uttered in a shrill scream as of pain or terror
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
a brief indulgence of your impulses
From this reading I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.
plural of “start” — the beginning of anything
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I've got to have one more spree before I'm arrested.
the third day of the week; the second working day
From this reading FERN Mullins rushed into the house on a Saturday morning early in September and shrieked at Carol, “School starts next Tuesday.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Let's get up a picnic down the lake for this afternoon.
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading Cy Bogart wants to go--he's a brat but he's lively.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Won't you come, Mrs. Kennicott, and the doctor?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Won't you come, Mrs. Kennicott, and the doctor?
Chapter 30 of Main Street by Sinclair Lewis holds 446 sentences, grouped into 90 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 30 holds 446 sentences of Main Street, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 30 of Main Street by Sinclair Lewis exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 446 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 30 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.
