Chapter 21 of One of Ours is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of One of Ours is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Claude looked at his big neighbour. "Well, I'm off tomorrow, Leonard. Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy. They'll always take an able-bodied man. I'm not coming back here."
Chapter 21 of One of Ours is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
having a strong healthy body
From this reading “They'll always take an able-bodied man.”
join the military
From this reading “Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.”
your parents
From this reading “Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.”
United States writer of thrillers (born in 1925)
From this reading “"Well, I'm off tomorrow, Leonard.”
make reference to
From this reading “Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.”
an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
From this reading “Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.”
a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading “Claude looked at his big neighbour.”
the day after today
From this reading “"Well, I'm off tomorrow, Leonard.”
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.
having a strong healthy body
From this reading They'll always take an able-bodied man.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading They'll always take an able-bodied man.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading They'll always take an able-bodied man.
a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Claude looked at his big neighbour.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading I'm not coming back here."
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Claude looked at his big neighbour.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Claude looked at his big neighbour.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading I'm not coming back here."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
join the military
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
your parents
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
the act of departing
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading I'm not coming back here."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Claude looked at his big neighbour.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, I'm off tomorrow, Leonard.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
United States writer of thrillers (born in 1925)
From this reading "Well, I'm off tomorrow, Leonard.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Claude looked at his big neighbour.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading They'll always take an able-bodied man.
make reference to
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading Claude looked at his big neighbour.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I'm not coming back here."
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Well, I'm off tomorrow, Leonard.
carry out
From this reading They'll always take an able-bodied man.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They'll always take an able-bodied man.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Don't mention it to my folks, but if I can't get into the army, I'm going to enlist in the navy.
the day after today
From this reading "Well, I'm off tomorrow, Leonard.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, I'm off tomorrow, Leonard.
Chapter 21 of One of Ours by Willa Cather holds 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 21 holds 205 sentences of One of Ours, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of One of Ours by Willa Cather exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 21 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 One of Ours by Willa Cather on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8134 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2369 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2369, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1627 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through One of Ours section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of One of Ours 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 One of Ours, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
