Chapter 17 of The Heart of the Desert is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Heart of the Desert is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt. At a level spot the girl paused. "Water, John! Water!" she cried. The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
Chapter 17 of The Heart of the Desert is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
emitting or filled with bubbles as from carbonation or fermentation
From this reading “The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.”
in a close relation or position in time or space
From this reading “THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.”
inflected form of “drink” — take in liquids
From this reading “The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.”
a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
From this reading “At a level spot the girl paused.”
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading “At a level spot the girl paused.”
past form of “stagger” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.”
highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious
From this reading “THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.”
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading “THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.”
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 At a level spot the girl paused.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At a level spot the girl paused.
emitting or filled with bubbles as from carbonation or fermentation
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
in a close relation or position in time or space
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Water!" she cried.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
inflected form of “drink” — take in liquids
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
a young female
From this reading At a level spot the girl paused.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading "Water, John!
a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
From this reading At a level spot the girl paused.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
not any; not one
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading At a level spot the girl paused.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Water!" she cried.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading At a level spot the girl paused.
the season of growth
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
past form of “stagger” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
up to a particular time
From this reading The two threw themselves down and drank of the bubbling spring until they could hold no more.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading THE FORGOTTEN CITY Up this tortuous trail Rhoda staggered, closely followed by DeWitt.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading "Water, John!
Chapter 17 of The Heart of the Desert by Honoré Morrow holds 234 sentences, grouped into 47 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 17 holds 234 sentences of The Heart of the Desert, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Heart of the Desert by Honoré Morrow exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 234 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 17 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 Heart of the Desert by Honoré Morrow on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5277 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16777 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16777, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 439 minutes of reading across 1056 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Heart of the Desert section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Heart of the Desert 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 Heart of the Desert, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
