Chapter 39 of The Pilots of Pomona is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of The Pilots of Pomona is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson. Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision. "Hello, Jack, what's troubling you now?" I asked, approaching him. "Troubling me!
Chapter 39 of The Pilots of Pomona is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
an expression of greeting
From this reading “"Hello, Jack, what's troubling you now?"”
doubt concerning two or more possible alternatives or courses of action
From this reading “Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.”
American Revolutionary leader (born in Ireland) who was a member of the Constitutional Convention (1745-1806)
From this reading “Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.”
plural of “pocket” — a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading “Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.”
presiding officer of a school
From this reading “Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.”
causing distress or worry or anxiety
From this reading “"Hello, Jack, what's troubling you now?"”
(usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately
From this reading “Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.”
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading “Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
the event of one object coming closer to another
From this reading I asked, approaching him.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked, approaching him.
relevant relation or interconnection
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hello, Jack, what's troubling you now?"
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I asked, approaching him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
doubt concerning two or more possible alternatives or courses of action
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
a small worthless amount
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Troubling me!
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Hello, Jack, what's troubling you now?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
American Revolutionary leader (born in Ireland) who was a member of the Constitutional Convention (1745-1806)
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
plural of “pocket” — a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
presiding officer of a school
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
having a supporting base
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
causing distress or worry or anxiety
From this reading "Hello, Jack, what's troubling you now?"
(usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
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 Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hello, Jack, what's troubling you now?"
at the time that
From this reading Not many minutes after I left the schoolmaster, when I was passing by the wharf, I met Jack Paterson.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Jack was standing looking down into the water, with his two hands deep in his trousers pockets, and his face bearing an expression of curious indecision.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Hello, Jack, what's troubling you now?"
Chapter 39 of The Pilots of Pomona by Robert Leighton holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 39 holds 151 sentences of The Pilots of Pomona, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of The Pilots of Pomona by Robert Leighton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 39 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 Pilots of Pomona by Robert Leighton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4399 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14149 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14149, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 366 minutes of reading across 880 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Pilots of Pomona section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Pilots of Pomona 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 Pilots of Pomona, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
