Chapter 27 of The Portal of Dreams is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The Portal of Dreams is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOW IT ENDED--AND BEGAN. The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray. The planks creaked under our feet. A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls. The tin basin stood on its accustomed shelf.
Chapter 27 of The Portal of Dreams is here in full — 154 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.
past form of “creak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading “The planks creaked under our feet.”
a toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion
From this reading “A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls.”
an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
From this reading “The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.”
plural of “plank” — a stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of sizes and used for many purposes
From this reading “The planks creaked under our feet.”
plural of “railing” — a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading “The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.”
plural of “saddle” — a seat for the rider of a horse or other animal
From this reading “A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls.”
plural of “strip” — a relatively long narrow piece of something
From this reading “The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.”
plural of “upright” — a vertical structural member as a post or stake
From this reading “The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.”
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 tin basin stood on its accustomed shelf.”
In this reading “The planks creaked under our feet.”
In this reading “A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls.”
In this reading “The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.”
In this reading “The tin basin stood on its accustomed shelf.”
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 The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
commonly used or practiced; usual
From this reading The tin basin stood on its accustomed shelf.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading HOW IT ENDED--AND BEGAN.
a bowl-shaped vessel; usually used for holding food or liquids
From this reading The tin basin stood on its accustomed shelf.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading HOW IT ENDED--AND BEGAN.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls.
past form of “creak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading The planks creaked under our feet.
having come or been brought to a conclusion
From this reading HOW IT ENDED--AND BEGAN.
be a farmer; work as a farmer
From this reading A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading The planks creaked under our feet.
a toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion
From this reading A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW IT ENDED--AND BEGAN.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading HOW IT ENDED--AND BEGAN.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The tin basin stood on its accustomed shelf.
an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
enter into a log, as on ships and planes
From this reading A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The tin basin stood on its accustomed shelf.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading The planks creaked under our feet.
plural of “plank” — a stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of sizes and used for many purposes
From this reading The planks creaked under our feet.
a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
plural of “railing” — a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
plural of “saddle” — a seat for the rider of a horse or other animal
From this reading A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls.
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading The tin basin stood on its accustomed shelf.
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The tin basin stood on its accustomed shelf.
plural of “strip” — a relatively long narrow piece of something
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
the act of swimming
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
From this reading The tin basin stood on its accustomed shelf.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading The planks creaked under our feet.
plural of “upright” — a vertical structural member as a post or stake
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading A confusion of saddles and farm gear hung against the log walls.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading The railings and uprights of the porch were strips of jet against a world swimming in blue and silver gray.
Chapter 27 of The Portal of Dreams by Charles Neville Buck holds 154 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 27 holds 154 sentences of The Portal of Dreams, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The Portal of Dreams by Charles Neville Buck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 154 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 27 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 Portal of Dreams by Charles Neville Buck on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3656 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31927 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31927, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 304 minutes of reading across 732 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Portal of Dreams section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Portal of Dreams 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 Portal of Dreams, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
