Chapter 28 of The Breath of the Gods is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of The Breath of the Gods is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Hold back that paper!" roared Ronsard. Todd stood on tiptoe. One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine. His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it. The arm lowered.
Chapter 28 of The Breath of the Gods is here in full — 375 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
an irregularly shaped spot
From this reading “His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.”
a framework erected over an oil well to allow drill tubes to be raised and lowered
From this reading “One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.”
below the surround or below the normal position
From this reading “The arm lowered.”
past form of “roar” — make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading “"Hold back that paper!" roared Ronsard.”
make square
From this reading “His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.”
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading “One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.”
walk on one's toes
From this reading “Todd stood on tiptoe.”
Scottish chemist noted for his research into the structure of nucleic acids (born in 1907)
From this reading “Todd stood on tiptoe.”
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.
move upward
In this reading “One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.”
In this reading “Todd stood on tiptoe.”
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 One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "Hold back that paper!" roared Ronsard.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
an irregularly shaped spot
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
a framework erected over an oil well to allow drill tubes to be raised and lowered
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "Hold back that paper!" roared Ronsard.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
below the surround or below the normal position
From this reading The arm lowered.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Todd stood on tiptoe.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading "Hold back that paper!" roared Ronsard.
past form of “roar” — make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading "Hold back that paper!" roared Ronsard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hold back that paper!" roared Ronsard.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
make square
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Todd stood on tiptoe.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Hold back that paper!" roared Ronsard.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
walk on one's toes
From this reading Todd stood on tiptoe.
Scottish chemist noted for his research into the structure of nucleic acids (born in 1907)
From this reading Todd stood on tiptoe.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading One long thin arm went up like the derrick of a dredging-machine.
a Caucasian
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading His hand held something square and white with a black blotch on it.
Chapter 28 of The Breath of the Gods by Sidney McCall holds 375 sentences, grouped into 75 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 28 holds 375 sentences of The Breath of the Gods, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of The Breath of the Gods by Sidney McCall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 375 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 28 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 Breath of the Gods by Sidney McCall on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11371 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42365 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42365, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2275 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Breath of the Gods section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Breath of the Gods 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 Breath of the Gods, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
