Chapter 29 of Main-Travelled Roads is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIX
Chapter 29 of Main-Travelled Roads is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone. She's--" The children were crying. The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway. Quick steps were heard. "Hold on there!" cried McPhail, as he burst into the room.
Chapter 29 of Main-Travelled Roads is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading “The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.”
demanding attention
From this reading “She's--" The children were crying.”
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading “The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.”
tending to vanish like vapor
From this reading “The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.”
plural of “flake” — a crystal of snow
From this reading “The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.”
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading “The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.”
-ing form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading “The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.”
past form of “whistle” — make whistling sounds
From this reading “The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.”
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.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
Having no one else present.
From this reading "Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Hold on there!" cried McPhail, as he burst into the room.
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading "Hold on there!" cried McPhail, as he burst into the room.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone.
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading She's--" The children were crying.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Hold on there!" cried McPhail, as he burst into the room.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
demanding attention
From this reading She's--" The children were crying.
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
in a cheerless manner
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
tending to vanish like vapor
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
plural of “flake” — a crystal of snow
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Hold on there!" cried McPhail, as he burst into the room.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Quick steps were heard.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "Hold on there!" cried McPhail, as he burst into the room.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "Hold on there!" cried McPhail, as he burst into the room.
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading "Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hold on there!" cried McPhail, as he burst into the room.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Hold on there!" cried McPhail, as he burst into the room.
above and across; more than
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
-ing form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading Quick steps were heard.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She's--" The children were crying.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Quick steps were heard.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She's--" The children were crying.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Hold on there!" cried McPhail, as he burst into the room.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading She's--" The children were crying.
past form of “whistle” — make whistling sounds
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading The wind whistled drearily across the room, carrying the evanescent flakes of soft snow over the heads of the pausing, listening crowd in the doorway.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Kill me--if you want to--but let her--alone.
Chapter 29 of Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland holds 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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 29 holds 224 sentences of Main-Travelled Roads, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 29 of Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 29 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-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6660 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2809 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2809, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 555 minutes of reading across 1332 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Main-Travelled Roads section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Main-Travelled Roads 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-Travelled Roads, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
