Chapter 18 of The Best Short Stories of 1918, and the Yearbook of the American Short is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Best Short Stories of 1918, and the Yearbook of the American Short is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’ “‘Why not?’ I interposed. ‘It will be better for us all.’ “‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.
Chapter 18 of The Best Short Stories of 1918, and the Yearbook of the American Short is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading ““‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.”
placed in a grave
From this reading ““‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’”
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading ““‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.”
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading ““‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’”
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading ““‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.”
(in India) a unit of length having different values in different localities
Hindu god of death; opposite of Kama
From this reading ““‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.”
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading ““‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’”
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 ““‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.”
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.
(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 ‘It will be better for us all.’
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading ‘It will be better for us all.’
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.
placed in a grave
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading “‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading “‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading “‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading ‘It will be better for us all.’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I interposed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I interposed.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
(in India) a unit of length having different values in different localities
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.
Hindu god of death; opposite of Kama
From this reading “‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “‘The old bird man comes this evening,’ Mara flung back.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ‘It will be better for us all.’
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “‘Why not?’
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading ‘It will be better for us all.’
but in spite of that
From this reading “‘Do not touch the _kos_!’ she commanded: ‘It shall not be buried yet.’
Chapter 18 of The Best Short Stories of 1918, and the Yearbook of the American Short by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 18 holds 406 sentences of The Best Short Stories of 1918, and the Yearbook of the American Short, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Best Short Stories of 1918, and the Yearbook of the American Short by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 18 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 The Best Short Stories of 1918, and the Yearbook of the American Short by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 15599 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39635 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39635, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3120 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Best Short Stories of 1918, and the Yearbook of the American Short section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The Best Short Stories of 1918, and the Yearbook of the American Short 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 The Best Short Stories of 1918, and the Yearbook of the American Short, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
