Chapter 7 of Shifting Sands is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Shifting Sands is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed. "Isn't it?" "It doesn't seem so to me. When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling. Who do you suppose he is?"
Chapter 7 of Shifting Sands is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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.
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading “"And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.”
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading “"And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.”
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading “When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.”
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading “"And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.”
plural of “mariner” — a man who serves as a sailor
From this reading “When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.”
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading “"And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.”
causing a surge of emotion or excitement
From this reading “When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.”
a message informing of danger
From this reading “When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.”
give sudden release to an expression
In this reading “"And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.”
be included in or classified as
In this reading “When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.”
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 "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Who do you suppose he is?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It doesn't seem so to me.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Who do you suppose he is?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Who do you suppose he is?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Isn't it?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Isn't it?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
plural of “mariner” — a man who serves as a sailor
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "It doesn't seem so to me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "It doesn't seem so to me.
express a supposition
From this reading Who do you suppose he is?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
causing a surge of emotion or excitement
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It doesn't seem so to me.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
a message informing of danger
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
at the time that
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
which person or people
From this reading Who do you suppose he is?"
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
but in spite of that
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "And yet you told me, Marcia, this was a quiet, adventureless place!" burst out Sylvia, the instant the door had closed.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading When shipwrecked mariners fall into your arms entirely without warning, I call it thrilling.
Chapter 7 of Shifting Sands by Sara Ware Bassett holds 254 sentences, grouped into 51 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, 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 7 holds 254 sentences of Shifting Sands, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Shifting Sands by Sara Ware Bassett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 254 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 7 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 Shifting Sands by Sara Ware Bassett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5568 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43773 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43773, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 464 minutes of reading across 1114 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shifting Sands section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Shifting Sands 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 Shifting Sands, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
