Chapter 10 of More E. K. Means is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of More E. K. Means is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little. Then he straightened up and surveyed his task. “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself. Then he shook his head hopelessly. “’Tain’t no use tryin’ dat.
Chapter 10 of More E. K. Means is here in full — 416 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.
-ing form of “accomplish” — put in effect
From this reading “He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.”
a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading ““Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.”
in a hopeless manner
From this reading “Then he shook his head hopelessly.”
an abrupt spasmodic movement
From this reading “He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.”
plural of “rag” — a small piece of cloth or paper
From this reading ““Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.”
past form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading “Then he straightened up and surveyed his task.”
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading “He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.”
past form of “survey” — consider in a comprehensive way
From this reading “Then he straightened up and surveyed his task.”
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.
straighten oneself
In this reading “Then he straightened up and surveyed his task.”
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.
-ing form of “accomplish” — put in effect
From this reading He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.
a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
clothing in general
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
a digital tape recording of sound
From this reading “’Tain’t no use tryin’ dat.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
a quad with a square body
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Then he shook his head hopelessly.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Then he straightened up and surveyed his task.
in a hopeless manner
From this reading Then he shook his head hopelessly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
an abrupt spasmodic movement
From this reading He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.
not any; not one
From this reading “’Tain’t no use tryin’ dat.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.
above and across; more than
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
plural of “rag” — a small piece of cloth or paper
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Then he shook his head hopelessly.
past form of “straighten” — straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading Then he straightened up and surveyed his task.
past form of “struggle” — make a strenuous or labored effort
From this reading He struggled on, jerking and pulling, but accomplishing little.
past form of “survey” — consider in a comprehensive way
From this reading Then he straightened up and surveyed his task.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “’Tain’t no use tryin’ dat.
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
From this reading Then he straightened up and surveyed his task.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he straightened up and surveyed his task.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “’Tain’t no use tryin’ dat.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Then he straightened up and surveyed his task.
the act of using
From this reading “’Tain’t no use tryin’ dat.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ef I could button dem clothes on de way dey wus at fust, I’d put little Shinny’s rags on over ’em,” he announced to himself.
Chapter 10 of More E. K. Means by E. K. (Eldred Kurtz) Means holds 416 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 10 holds 416 sentences of More E. K. Means, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of More E. K. Means by E. K. (Eldred Kurtz) Means exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 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 10 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 More E. K. Means by E. K. (Eldred Kurtz) Means on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6573 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59476 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59476, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 547 minutes of reading across 1315 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through More E. K. Means section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of More E. K. Means 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 More E. K. Means, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
