Chapter 15 of Manhattan Transfer is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Manhattan Transfer is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden. He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb. Turning his coatcollar down again he started across the square. On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland. O’Keefe plunked down in the seat beside him.
Chapter 15 of Manhattan Transfer is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading “On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.”
traveling across
From this reading “Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.”
an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)
From this reading “He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.”
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.”
4th President of the United States; member of the Continental Congress and rapporteur at the Constitutional Convention in 1776; helped frame the Bill of Rights (1751-1836)
From this reading “Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.”
an impelling force or strength
From this reading “He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.”
past form of “plunk” — make or move along with a sound as of a horse's hooves striking the ground
From this reading “O’Keefe plunked down in the seat beside him.”
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading “Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.”
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.
see something for a brief time
In this reading “Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.”
In this reading “On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.”
set off quickly, usually with success
In this reading “He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.”
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 On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Turning his coatcollar down again he started across the square.
anew
From this reading Turning his coatcollar down again he started across the square.
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.
next to; at the side of
From this reading O’Keefe plunked down in the seat beside him.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Turning his coatcollar down again he started across the square.
traveling across
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Turning his coatcollar down again he started across the square.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Turning his coatcollar down again he started across the square.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
4th President of the United States; member of the Continental Congress and rapporteur at the Constitutional Convention in 1776; helped frame the Bill of Rights (1751-1836)
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
an impelling force or strength
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.
past form of “plunk” — make or move along with a sound as of a horse's hooves striking the ground
From this reading O’Keefe plunked down in the seat beside him.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading O’Keefe plunked down in the seat beside him.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
make square
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Turning his coatcollar down again he started across the square.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He jumped off the car; the momentum carried him in little running steps to the curb.
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading Turning his coatcollar down again he started across the square.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Crossing Twentythird O’Keefe caught sight of the tower of Madison Square Garden.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading On the end of a bench under a tree drowsed Joe Harland.
Chapter 15 of Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 15 holds 417 sentences of Manhattan Transfer, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 15 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 Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Manhattan Transfer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Manhattan Transfer 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 Manhattan Transfer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
