Chapter 17 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Let's go," Alan said. "Breakfast in town. I'm buying." They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother. # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
Chapter 17 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 act of buying
From this reading “I'm buying."”
past form of “file” — record in a public office or in a court of law
From this reading “They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.”
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading “# Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.”
8th and most important avatar of Vishnu; incarnated as a handsome young man playing a flute
From this reading “# Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.”
-ing form of “rock” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading “They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.”
past form of “spare” — refrain from harming
From this reading “They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.”
past form of “stagger” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “# Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.”
the front side of a store facing the street; usually contains display windows
From this reading “# Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.”
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 They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Let's go," Alan said.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading "Breakfast in town.
the act of buying
From this reading I'm buying."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
past form of “file” — record in a public office or in a court of law
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Let's go," Alan said.
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm buying."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Breakfast in town.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
8th and most important avatar of Vishnu; incarnated as a handsome young man playing a flute
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Let's go," Alan said.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
above and across; more than
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
-ing form of “rock” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Let's go," Alan said.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
inflected form of “slip” — move stealthily
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
past form of “spare” — refrain from harming
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
past form of “stagger” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
the front side of a store facing the street; usually contains display windows
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading # Krishna grinned at him from the front porch as he staggered home from Kurt's storefront.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading "Breakfast in town.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They filed out and Alan spared Davey a look over his shoulder as they slipped away, head down on his knees, rocking in time with their mother.
Chapter 17 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 17 holds 402 sentences of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 17 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 Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8538 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18224 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18224, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1708 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town 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 Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
