Chapter 4 of The Desert and the Sown is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Desert and the Sown is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence. Mrs. Bogardus spoke first. “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs. She was a large woman. “What does what mean?
Chapter 4 of The Desert and the Sown is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading ““What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.”
an event that involves rising to a higher point (as in altitude or temperature or intensity etc.)
From this reading ““What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.”
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading “IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.”
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading “IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.”
possession of controlling influence
From this reading “IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.”
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading “IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading ““What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.”
a flaw or weak point
From this reading “IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.”
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 IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Bogardus spoke first.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
an event that involves rising to a higher point (as in altitude or temperature or intensity etc.)
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Mrs. Bogardus spoke first.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She was a large woman.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
a particular point in time
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Bogardus spoke first.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
by chance
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
possession of controlling influence
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was a large woman.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Mrs. Bogardus spoke first.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was a large woman.
a flaw or weak point
From this reading IX THE POWER OF WEAKNESS Christine followed her mother to their room, and the two faced each other a moment in pale silence.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What does this mean?”--her breath came short, perhaps from climbing the stairs.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading She was a large woman.
Chapter 4 of The Desert and the Sown by Mary Hallock Foote holds 433 sentences, grouped into 87 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 4 holds 433 sentences of The Desert and the Sown, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Desert and the Sown by Mary Hallock Foote exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 433 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 4 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 Desert and the Sown by Mary Hallock Foote on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4731 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8219 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8219, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 394 minutes of reading across 947 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Desert and the Sown section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Desert and the Sown 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 Desert and the Sown, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
