Chapter 7 of The best short stories of 1921, and is here in full — 556 sentences across 112 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The best short stories of 1921, and is here in full — 556 sentences across 112 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But the store moved, moved. There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun. From the rim of the wheel where it was black, bright dust flung away as it spun. The store was a speck of bright dust. It flung straight.
Chapter 7 of The best short stories of 1921, and is here in full — 556 sentences across 112 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/111 · 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 shaft on which a wheel rotates
From this reading “There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.”
inflected form of “dim” — switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam
From this reading “There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.”
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading “There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.”
the shape of a raised edge of a more or less circular object
From this reading “From the rim of the wheel where it was black, bright dust flung away as it spun.”
a very small spot
From this reading “The store was a speck of bright dust.”
plural of “spoke” — support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading “There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.”
inflected form of “spin” — revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
From this reading “There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.”
change directions as if revolving on a pivot
From this reading “There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.”
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 There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading From the rim of the wheel where it was black, bright dust flung away as it spun.
a shaft on which a wheel rotates
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading From the rim of the wheel where it was black, bright dust flung away as it spun.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the store moved, moved.
inflected form of “dim” — switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
remove the dust from
From this reading From the rim of the wheel where it was black, bright dust flung away as it spun.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading From the rim of the wheel where it was black, bright dust flung away as it spun.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From the rim of the wheel where it was black, bright dust flung away as it spun.
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading But the store moved, moved.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading From the rim of the wheel where it was black, bright dust flung away as it spun.
the shape of a raised edge of a more or less circular object
From this reading From the rim of the wheel where it was black, bright dust flung away as it spun.
100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
a very small spot
From this reading The store was a speck of bright dust.
plural of “spoke” — support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
inflected form of “spin” — revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading But the store moved, moved.
successive (without a break)
From this reading It flung straight.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But the store moved, moved.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
change directions as if revolving on a pivot
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
in or at the place that
From this reading From the rim of the wheel where it was black, bright dust flung away as it spun.
in the company of; together with
From this reading There was a black wheel with a gleaming axle--the Sun--that sent light dimming down its spokes as it spun.
Chapter 7 of The best short stories of 1921, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien holds 556 sentences, grouped into 112 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 7 holds 556 sentences of The best short stories of 1921, and, unabridged, divided into 112 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The best short stories of 1921, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 556 sentences, grouped into 112 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 112 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 112 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 7 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 1921, and by Edward J. (Edward Joseph) [Editor] O'Brien on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 20672 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18709 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18709, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 4135 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The best short stories of 1921, and section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The best short stories of 1921, and 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 1921, and, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
