Chapter 25 of On Our Selection is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of On Our Selection is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
One Christmas. Three days to Christmas; and how pleased we were! For months we had looked forward to it. Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home. Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
Chapter 25 of On Our Selection is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “One Christmas.”
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading “Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.”
at or to or toward the front
From this reading “For months we had looked forward to it.”
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading “For months we had looked forward to it.”
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading “Three days to Christmas; and how pleased we were!”
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading “Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.”
the act of choosing or selecting
From this reading “Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.”
removing by cutting off or clipping
From this reading “Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Three days to Christmas; and how pleased we were!
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading One Christmas.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Three days to Christmas; and how pleased we were!
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For months we had looked forward to it.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading For months we had looked forward to it.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading For months we had looked forward to it.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Three days to Christmas; and how pleased we were!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading For months we had looked forward to it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading For months we had looked forward to it.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading For months we had looked forward to it.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
on one occasion
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One Christmas.
and nothing more
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading Three days to Christmas; and how pleased we were!
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
the act of choosing or selecting
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
removing by cutting off or clipping
From this reading Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Three days to Christmas; and how pleased we were!
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Three days to Christmas; and how pleased we were!
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Three days to Christmas; and how pleased we were!
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Three days to Christmas; and how pleased we were!
which person or people
From this reading Dave, who was away shearing for the first time, was coming home too.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Kate and Sandy, whom we had only seen once since they went on their selection, were to be home.
Chapter 25 of On Our Selection by Steele Rudd holds 115 sentences, grouped into 23 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 25 holds 115 sentences of On Our Selection, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of On Our Selection by Steele Rudd exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 115 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 25 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.
