Chapter 21 of The Pool in the Desert is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Pool in the Desert is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’ ‘She seems so, indeed,’ Madeline replied. ‘She is delighted with “Two Gables”. Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’ ‘What a good thing!’
Chapter 21 of The Pool in the Desert is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading “‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’”
greatly pleased
From this reading “‘She is delighted with “Two Gables”.”
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading “‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’”
plural of “gable” — the vertical triangular wall between the sloping ends of gable roof
From this reading “‘She is delighted with “Two Gables”.”
plural of “like” — a similar kind
From this reading “Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’”
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading “‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’”
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading “Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’”
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “‘She seems so, indeed,’ Madeline replied.”
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 ‘What a good thing!’
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
(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 Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading ‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
greatly pleased
From this reading ‘She is delighted with “Two Gables”.
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading ‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’
plural of “gable” — the vertical triangular wall between the sloping ends of gable roof
From this reading ‘She is delighted with “Two Gables”.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading ‘What a good thing!’
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading ‘She seems so, indeed,’ Madeline replied.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
plural of “like” — a similar kind
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading ‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘She seems so, indeed,’ Madeline replied.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading ‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading ‘She seems so, indeed,’ Madeline replied.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading ‘She seems so, indeed,’ Madeline replied.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘She seems so, indeed,’ Madeline replied.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading ‘She seems so, indeed,’ Madeline replied.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
a special situation
From this reading ‘What a good thing!’
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading ‘She is delighted with “Two Gables”.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Likes it better, she says, than any other house we could have got.’
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading ‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’
used to ask for information about something
From this reading ‘What a good thing!’
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading ‘My wife,’ said Colonel Innes, ‘is looking extremely well.’
in the company of; together with
From this reading ‘She is delighted with “Two Gables”.
Chapter 21 of The Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeannette Duncan holds 87 sentences, grouped into 18 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 21 holds 87 sentences of The Pool in the Desert, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeannette Duncan exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 87 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 21 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 Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeannette Duncan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3953 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1168 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1168, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 329 minutes of reading across 791 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Pool in the Desert section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Pool in 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 Pool in the Desert, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
