Chapter 16 of Shifting Sands is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Shifting Sands is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why, Elisha!" exclaimed Marcia. "How you startled me. Come in. You're all dressed up, aren't you? Have you been to a funeral?"
Chapter 16 of Shifting Sands is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “Have you been to a funeral?"”
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Come in.”
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading “You're all dressed up, aren't you?”
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “"Why, Elisha!" exclaimed Marcia.”
a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated
From this reading “Have you been to a funeral?"”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Have you been to a funeral?"”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “"How you startled me.”
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.
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 Have you been to a funeral?"
(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 You're all dressed up, aren't you?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're all dressed up, aren't you?
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Have you been to a funeral?"
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come in.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading You're all dressed up, aren't you?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why, Elisha!" exclaimed Marcia.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "Why, Elisha!" exclaimed Marcia.
a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated
From this reading Have you been to a funeral?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have you been to a funeral?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How you startled me.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Come in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why, Elisha!" exclaimed Marcia.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "How you startled me.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading "How you startled me.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Have you been to a funeral?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading You're all dressed up, aren't you?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, Elisha!" exclaimed Marcia.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "How you startled me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're all dressed up, aren't you?
Chapter 16 of Shifting Sands by Sara Ware Bassett holds 375 sentences, grouped into 75 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 16 holds 375 sentences of Shifting Sands, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Shifting Sands by Sara Ware Bassett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 375 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 16 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.
