Chapter 37 of The Main Chance is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVII
Chapter 37 of The Main Chance is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"IT IS CRUEL" "It is cruel of them to say it!" Evelyn was at the Whipples'. It was a morning in May. Spring possessed the valley. The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
Chapter 37 of The Main Chance is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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 act of closing something
From this reading “The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.”
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.”
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading “"IT IS CRUEL" "It is cruel of them to say it!"”
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading “The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.”
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading “The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.”
influenced or controlled by a powerful force such as a strong emotion
From this reading “Spring possessed the valley.”
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading “Spring possessed the valley.”
plural of “vista” — the visual percept of a region
From this reading “The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.”
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.
In this reading “The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.”
In this reading “The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.”
In this reading “The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.”
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 It was a morning in May.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
anew
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Evelyn was at the Whipples'.
the act of closing something
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading "IT IS CRUEL" "It is cruel of them to say it!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Evelyn was at the Whipples'.
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was a morning in May.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "IT IS CRUEL" "It is cruel of them to say it!"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "IT IS CRUEL" "It is cruel of them to say it!"
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
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 The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading It was a morning in May.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading It was a morning in May.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "IT IS CRUEL" "It is cruel of them to say it!"
influenced or controlled by a powerful force such as a strong emotion
From this reading Spring possessed the valley.
express in words
From this reading "IT IS CRUEL" "It is cruel of them to say it!"
the season of growth
From this reading Spring possessed the valley.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Evelyn was at the Whipples'.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "IT IS CRUEL" "It is cruel of them to say it!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "IT IS CRUEL" "It is cruel of them to say it!"
plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading Spring possessed the valley.
plural of “vista” — the visual percept of a region
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Evelyn was at the Whipples'.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The long vistas across the hills were closing as the leaves crept into the trees again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Evelyn was at the Whipples'.
Chapter 37 of The Main Chance by Meredith Nicholson holds 200 sentences, grouped into 40 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 37 holds 200 sentences of The Main Chance, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 37 of The Main Chance by Meredith Nicholson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 200 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 37 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 Main Chance by Meredith Nicholson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6280 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37190 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37190, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 523 minutes of reading across 1256 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Main Chance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Main Chance 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 Main Chance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
