Chapter 10 of Over the Sliprails is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Over the Sliprails is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Long, low, intense whistle from Bill. He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there. After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.” The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer. Then he said: “I suppose yer mother goes out washin'?”
Chapter 10 of Over the Sliprails is here in full — 196 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.
plural of “beam” — a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides airplane pilots in darkness or bad weather
From this reading “He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.”
an event that might have been arranged although it was really accidental
From this reading “The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.”
in an impressive manner
From this reading “After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.””
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading “Long, low, intense whistle from Bill.”
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading “He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.”
make whistling sounds
From this reading “Long, low, intense whistle from Bill.”
past form of “wrestle” — combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force
From this reading “The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.”
marked by wrinkles
From this reading “He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.”
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 After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.”
later than; following
From this reading After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
plural of “beam” — a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides airplane pilots in darkness or bad weather
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading Long, low, intense whistle from Bill.
an event that might have been arranged although it was really accidental
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.”
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Long, low, intense whistle from Bill.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading Then he said: “I suppose yer mother goes out washin'?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Then he said: “I suppose yer mother goes out washin'?”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
in an impressive manner
From this reading After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.”
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading Long, low, intense whistle from Bill.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Long, low, intense whistle from Bill.
for more time
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Long, low, intense whistle from Bill.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Then he said: “I suppose yer mother goes out washin'?”
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Then he said: “I suppose yer mother goes out washin'?”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.”
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.”
a thing, without saying which
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
express a supposition
From this reading Then he said: “I suppose yer mother goes out washin'?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he said: “I suppose yer mother goes out washin'?”
in or at that place or location
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
precisely as stated
From this reading After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then he said: “I suppose yer mother goes out washin'?”
during the time that
From this reading After a while he said, very impressively: “So did mine.”
make whistling sounds
From this reading Long, low, intense whistle from Bill.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
past form of “wrestle” — combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
marked by wrinkles
From this reading He wrinkled his forehead and stared up at the beams as if he expected to see something unusual there.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then he said: “I suppose yer mother goes out washin'?”
but in spite of that
From this reading The coincidence hadn't done striking him yet; he wrestled with it for nearly a minute longer.
Chapter 10 of Over the Sliprails by Henry Lawson holds 196 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 10 holds 196 sentences of Over the Sliprails, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Over the Sliprails by Henry Lawson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 196 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 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 Over the Sliprails by Henry Lawson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2582 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1313 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1313, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 215 minutes of reading across 517 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Over the Sliprails section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Over the Sliprails 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 Over the Sliprails, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
