Chapter 24 of Sparrows is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of Sparrows is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air. The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud. A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it. "Oh, look!" they cried. The creature was moving.
Chapter 24 of Sparrows is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
a person who adds numbers
From this reading “NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.”
a creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings
From this reading “NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.”
past form of “glimpse” — catch a glimpse of or see briefly
From this reading “The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.”
popular aquarium fish
From this reading “A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.”
sharp piercing cry
From this reading “NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.”
plural of “terror” — an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading “NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.”
tread or stomp heavily or roughly
From this reading “NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.”
put down or press the foot, place the foot
From this reading “NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.”
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 “NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.”
In this reading “NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.”
In this reading “A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.”
In this reading “NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.”
In this reading “NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.
a person who adds numbers
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
later than; following
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Oh, look!" they cried.
a creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.
past form of “glimpse” — catch a glimpse of or see briefly
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.
grossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
plural of “inch” — a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.
large gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Oh, look!" they cried.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
popular aquarium fish
From this reading A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.
in motion
From this reading The creature was moving.
water soaked soil; soft wet earth
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, look!" they cried.
a note appended to a letter after the signature
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
let for money
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
sharp piercing cry
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.
plural of “terror” — an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Oh, look!" they cried.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The children, too, had glimpsed the hideous black creature lying half-imbedded in mud.
tread or stomp heavily or roughly
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
put down or press the foot, place the foot
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The creature was moving.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading A few inches more and Mollie would have stepped upon it.
being one more than ninety
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading NEW TERRORS "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."--Ps. xci, 13 Shriek after shriek rent the air.
Chapter 24 of Sparrows by Marie Coolidge-Rask holds 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 24 holds 154 sentences of Sparrows, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of Sparrows by Marie Coolidge-Rask exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 24 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 Sparrows by Marie Coolidge-Rask on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sparrows section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Sparrows 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 Sparrows, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
