Chapter 27 of One of Ours is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of One of Ours is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Tame? My God, it's death in life! What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them? They're afraid of everything. I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
Chapter 27 of One of Ours is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “They're afraid of everything.”
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading “I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"”
absence of light or illumination
From this reading “I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"”
all things; all of a situation
From this reading “They're afraid of everything.”
-ing form of “prowl” — move about in or as if in a predatory manner
From this reading “I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"”
plural of “sneak” — a person who is regarded as underhanded and furtive and contemptible
From this reading “I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"”
correct by punishment or discipline
From this reading “"Tame?”
plural of “town” — an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading “I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"”
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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading They're afraid of everything.
later than; following
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
absence of light or illumination
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading My God, it's death in life!
all things; all of a situation
From this reading They're afraid of everything.
start firing a weapon
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading My God, it's death in life!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading My God, it's death in life!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My God, it's death in life!
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading My God, it's death in life!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
the force of workers available
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My God, it's death in life!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
-ing form of “prowl” — move about in or as if in a predatory manner
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
plural of “sneak” — a person who is regarded as underhanded and furtive and contemptible
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
carry out
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
correct by punishment or discipline
From this reading "Tame?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They're afraid of everything.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
plural of “town” — an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading I know them; Sunday-school sneaks, prowling around those little towns after dark!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What's left of men if you take all the fire out of them?
Chapter 27 of One of Ours by Willa Cather holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 27 holds 197 sentences of One of Ours, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of One of Ours by Willa Cather exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 27 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.
