Chapter 16 of The Promised Land is here in full — 223 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Promised Land is here in full — 223 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DOVER STREET What happened next was Dover Street. And what was Dover Street? Ask rather, What was it not? Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life. Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.
Chapter 16 of The Promised Land is here in full — 223 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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 region where a battle is being (or has been) fought
From this reading “Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.”
a branch of knowledge
From this reading “Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.”
the capital of the state of Delaware
From this reading “DOVER STREET What happened next was Dover Street.”
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading “Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.”
superlative of “fair” — free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading “Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.”
the childhood of a girl
From this reading “Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.”
morally degraded
From this reading “Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.”
lack of agreement or harmony
From this reading “Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.”
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 Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And what was Dover Street?
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Ask rather, What was it not?
a line of approach
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
a region where a battle is being (or has been) fought
From this reading Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
a branch of knowledge
From this reading Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.
the capital of the state of Delaware
From this reading DOVER STREET What happened next was Dover Street.
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
superlative of “fair” — free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
the childhood of a girl
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading DOVER STREET What happened next was Dover Street.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Ask rather, What was it not?
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading DOVER STREET What happened next was Dover Street.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Ask rather, What was it not?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.
on the contrary
From this reading Ask rather, What was it not?
an educational institution
From this reading Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.
morally degraded
From this reading Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading DOVER STREET What happened next was Dover Street.
lack of agreement or harmony
From this reading Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading DOVER STREET What happened next was Dover Street.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading DOVER STREET What happened next was Dover Street.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life.
Chapter 16 of The Promised Land by Mary Antin holds 223 sentences, grouped into 45 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 16 holds 223 sentences of The Promised Land, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Promised Land by Mary Antin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 223 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 16 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 Promised Land by Mary Antin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5466 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20885 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20885, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 455 minutes of reading across 1094 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Promised Land section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Promised Land 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 Promised Land, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
