Chapter 9 of On Our Selection is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of On Our Selection is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Dad And The Donovans. A sweltering summer's afternoon. A heat that curled and withered the very weeds. The corn-blades drooping, sulking still. Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
Chapter 9 of On Our Selection is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
weak from exhaustion
From this reading “The corn-blades drooping, sulking still.”
garments (clothes or linens) that are to be (or have been) ironed
From this reading “Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.”
cleaning with a mop
From this reading “Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.”
-ing form of “sulk” — be in a huff and display one's displeasure
From this reading “The corn-blades drooping, sulking still.”
possessive form of “summer” — the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading “A sweltering summer's afternoon.”
excessively hot and humid or marked by sweating and faintness
From this reading “A sweltering summer's afternoon.”
a rectangular piece of absorbent cloth (or paper) for drying or wiping
From this reading “Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.”
a black garment (dress) worn by a widow as a sign of mourning
From this reading “A heat that curled and withered the very weeds.”
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 A sweltering summer's afternoon.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading A sweltering summer's afternoon.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Dad And The Donovans.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The corn-blades drooping, sulking still.
(of hair) making curls or having been made to curl
From this reading A heat that curled and withered the very weeds.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading Dad And The Donovans.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dad And The Donovans.
weak from exhaustion
From this reading The corn-blades drooping, sulking still.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
a form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature
From this reading A heat that curled and withered the very weeds.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
garments (clothes or linens) that are to be (or have been) ironed
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
cleaning with a mop
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
not in physical motion
From this reading The corn-blades drooping, sulking still.
-ing form of “sulk” — be in a huff and display one's displeasure
From this reading The corn-blades drooping, sulking still.
possessive form of “summer” — the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading A sweltering summer's afternoon.
excessively hot and humid or marked by sweating and faintness
From this reading A sweltering summer's afternoon.
disclosing unintentionally something concealed
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A heat that curled and withered the very weeds.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dad And The Donovans.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
a rectangular piece of absorbent cloth (or paper) for drying or wiping
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
precisely as stated
From this reading A heat that curled and withered the very weeds.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
a black garment (dress) worn by a widow as a sign of mourning
From this reading A heat that curled and withered the very weeds.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Mother and Sal ironing, mopping their faces with a towel and telling each other how hot it was.
lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
From this reading A heat that curled and withered the very weeds.
Chapter 9 of On Our Selection by Steele Rudd holds 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 155 sentences of On Our Selection, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of On Our Selection by Steele Rudd exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 On Our Selection by Steele Rudd on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3170 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3677 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3677, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 264 minutes of reading across 634 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through On Our Selection section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of On Our Selection 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 On Our Selection, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
