Chapter 19 of The Desert of Wheat is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of The Desert of Wheat is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains. It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand. Her heart palpitated. She heard his quick step on the stairs. She called before she showed herself.
Chapter 19 of The Desert of Wheat is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/69 · 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.
not accessible to view
From this reading “Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.”
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.”
past form of “dawn” — become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
From this reading “It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.”
a severe or trying experience
From this reading “It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.”
past form of “palpitate” — cause to throb or beat rapidly
From this reading “Her heart palpitated.”
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading “She heard his quick step on the stairs.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “She heard his quick step on the stairs.”
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading She called before she showed herself.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading She called before she showed herself.
not accessible to view
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
past form of “dawn” — become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading She heard his quick step on the stairs.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Her heart palpitated.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading She called before she showed herself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She heard his quick step on the stairs.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She heard his quick step on the stairs.
a severe or trying experience
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
past form of “palpitate” — cause to throb or beat rapidly
From this reading Her heart palpitated.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading She heard his quick step on the stairs.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading She called before she showed herself.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading She heard his quick step on the stairs.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading She heard his quick step on the stairs.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading It had dawned upon her that she had an ordeal at hand.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Lenore waited for Kurt, and stood half concealed behind the curtains.
Chapter 19 of The Desert of Wheat by Zane Grey holds 349 sentences, grouped into 70 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 349 sentences of The Desert of Wheat, unabridged, divided into 70 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of The Desert of Wheat by Zane Grey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 349 sentences, grouped into 70 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 70 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 70 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 The Desert of Wheat by Zane Grey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9875 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10201 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10201, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1975 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Desert of Wheat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Desert of Wheat 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 of Wheat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
