Chapter 31 of The Plow-Woman is here in full — 58 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of The Plow-Woman is here in full — 58 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream. The distant ranges were grey. The sky showed the misty blue of the dog-days. Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires. Brannon was quiet to the point of lethargy.
Chapter 31 of The Plow-Woman is here in full — 58 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
having a specified kind of border or edge
From this reading “Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.”
(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
From this reading “THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.”
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading “Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.”
a state of comatose torpor (as found in sleeping sickness)
From this reading “Brannon was quiet to the point of lethargy.”
filled or abounding with fog or mist
From this reading “The sky showed the misty blue of the dog-days.”
plural of “range” — an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
From this reading “The distant ranges were grey.”
necrotic tissue; a mortified or gangrenous part or mass
From this reading “THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.”
plural of “streak” — an unbroken series of events
From this reading “Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.”
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 “Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.”
In this reading “The distant ranges were grey.”
In this reading “THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.”
In this reading “THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading The sky showed the misty blue of the dog-days.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Brannon was quiet to the point of lethargy.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
separated in space or coming from or going to a distance
From this reading The distant ranges were grey.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sky showed the misty blue of the dog-days.
having a specified kind of border or edge
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading The distant ranges were grey.
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
a state of comatose torpor (as found in sleeping sickness)
From this reading Brannon was quiet to the point of lethargy.
filled or abounding with fog or mist
From this reading The sky showed the misty blue of the dog-days.
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading Brannon was quiet to the point of lethargy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading Brannon was quiet to the point of lethargy.
plural of “range” — an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
From this reading The distant ranges were grey.
especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading The sky showed the misty blue of the dog-days.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The sky showed the misty blue of the dog-days.
necrotic tissue; a mortified or gangrenous part or mass
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
plural of “streak” — an unbroken series of events
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The distant ranges were grey.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
in or at the place that
From this reading Far off to the north and west, black streaks edged the horizon, where smoke rolled up from prairie-fires.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
in the company of; together with
From this reading THE EVE OF OTHER THINGS The wide valley was brown, with green splots and tracings for slough and stream.
Chapter 31 of The Plow-Woman by Eleanor Gates holds 58 sentences, grouped into 12 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 31 holds 58 sentences of The Plow-Woman, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of The Plow-Woman by Eleanor Gates exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 58 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 31 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 Plow-Woman by Eleanor Gates on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7668 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31139 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31139, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1534 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Plow-Woman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Plow-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 Plow-Woman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
