Chapter 32 of South Wind is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXII
Chapter 32 of South Wind is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was nearly two o'clock. To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace. Streets were deserted. The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters. Heat and silence brooded over the land.
Chapter 32 of South Wind is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
past form of “brood” — think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading “Heat and silence brooded over the land.”
a hard ferromagnetic silver-white bivalent or trivalent metallic element; a trace element in plant and animal nutrition
From this reading “The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.”
forsaken by owner or inhabitants
From this reading “Streets were deserted.”
an enclosed chamber in which heat is produced to heat buildings, destroy refuse, smelt or refine ores, etc.
From this reading “To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.”
shining intensely
From this reading “The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.”
a form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature
From this reading “Heat and silence brooded over the land.”
plural of “inhabitant” — a person who inhabits a particular place
From this reading “The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.”
plural of “shutter” — a mechanical device on a camera that opens and closes to control the time of a photographic exposure
From this reading “The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.”
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 To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Heat and silence brooded over the land.
in a state of sleep
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
past form of “brood” — think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading Heat and silence brooded over the land.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
a hard ferromagnetic silver-white bivalent or trivalent metallic element; a trace element in plant and animal nutrition
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
forsaken by owner or inhabitants
From this reading Streets were deserted.
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.
the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
an enclosed chamber in which heat is produced to heat buildings, destroy refuse, smelt or refine ores, etc.
From this reading To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.
shining intensely
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
a form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature
From this reading Heat and silence brooded over the land.
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
plural of “inhabitant” — a person who inhabits a particular place
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was nearly two o'clock.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading Heat and silence brooded over the land.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It was nearly two o'clock.
according to the clock
From this reading It was nearly two o'clock.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.
above and across; more than
From this reading Heat and silence brooded over the land.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
plural of “shutter” — a mechanical device on a camera that opens and closes to control the time of a photographic exposure
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Heat and silence brooded over the land.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.
plural of “street” — a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Streets were deserted.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading It was nearly two o'clock.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was nearly two o'clock.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Streets were deserted.
a Caucasian
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament; their inhabitants lay asleep within, behind closed shutters.
Chapter 32 of South Wind by Norman Douglas holds 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 holds 156 sentences of South Wind, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 32 of South Wind by Norman Douglas exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 32 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 South Wind by Norman Douglas on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9580 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4508 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4508, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1916 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through South Wind section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of South Wind 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 South Wind, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
