Chapter 19 of Spring Street A Story of Los Angeles is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Spring Street A Story of Los Angeles is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Midnight. For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting. Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers. A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them. The noise of the city had quieted.
Chapter 19 of Spring Street A Story of Los Angeles is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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 narrow street with walls on both sides
From this reading “A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.”
plural of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers.”
constricted in size
From this reading “For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.”
past form of “crouch” — bend one's back forward from the waist on down
From this reading “A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.”
too numerous to be counted
From this reading “Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers.”
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.”
past form of “quiet” — become quiet or quieter
From this reading “The noise of the city had quieted.”
plural of “whisper” — speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers.”
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 A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
a narrow street with walls on both sides
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers.
plural of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading The noise of the city had quieted.
constricted in size
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
past form of “crouch” — bend one's back forward from the waist on down
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
the activity of keeping something secret
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
too numerous to be counted
From this reading Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading Midnight.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading The noise of the city had quieted.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The noise of the city had quieted.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
a member of a police force
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
past form of “quiet” — become quiet or quieter
From this reading The noise of the city had quieted.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
(used especially of meats and fish) dried and cured by hanging in wood smoke
From this reading Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
up to a particular time
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading For more than an hour they had remained in their cramped hiding place, waiting.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading A policeman had walked through the alley peering into the shadows and they had crouched breathless until he passed them.
during the time that
From this reading Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers.
plural of “whisper” — speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading Brennan smoked innumerable cigarettes while they talked in whispers.
Chapter 19 of Spring Street A Story of Los Angeles by James Hugh Richardson holds 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 19 holds 213 sentences of Spring Street A Story of Los Angeles, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Spring Street A Story of Los Angeles by James Hugh Richardson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 19 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 Spring Street A Story of Los Angeles by James Hugh Richardson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5585 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22194 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22194, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 465 minutes of reading across 1117 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Spring Street A Story of Los Angeles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Spring Street A Story of Los Angeles 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 Spring Street A Story of Los Angeles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
