Chapter 9 of The Desired Woman is here in full — 267 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Desired Woman is here in full — 267 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch. "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads. Thar will be a crowd thar to-day." "Anything special going on?" Mostyn asked.
Chapter 9 of The Desired Woman is here in full — 267 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/53 · 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.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading “The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.”
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading “Thar will be a crowd thar to-day."”
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading “The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.”
the act of smoking tobacco or other substances
From this reading “The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.”
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading “"Anything special going on?"”
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “"If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “"If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.”
English writer and a central member of the Fabian Society (1858-1943)
From this reading “The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.”
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 Thar will be a crowd thar to-day."
later than; following
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
any thing at all
From this reading "Anything special going on?"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Mostyn asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Thar will be a crowd thar to-day."
(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 "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading Thar will be a crowd thar to-day."
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
the act of departing
From this reading "Anything special going on?"
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
the act of smoking tobacco or other substances
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading "Anything special going on?"
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thar will be a crowd thar to-day."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thar will be a crowd thar to-day."
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
English writer and a central member of the Fabian Society (1858-1943)
From this reading The next morning after breakfast John Webb met Mostyn as he stood smoking on the front porch.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Thar will be a crowd thar to-day."
in the company of; together with
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "If you haven't got nothin' better to do," he said, "you might walk down with me to Dolph Wartrace's store, at the cross-roads.
Chapter 9 of The Desired Woman by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben holds 267 sentences, grouped into 54 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 9 holds 267 sentences of The Desired Woman, unabridged, divided into 54 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Desired Woman by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 267 sentences, grouped into 54 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 54 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 54 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 9 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 Desired Woman by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7922 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6056 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6056, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1585 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Desired Woman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Desired Woman 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 Desired Woman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
