Chapter 7 of The Snowshoe Trail is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Snowshoe Trail is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"What did you say?" he asked, menacing. He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North. But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error. Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade. Also he always had good reasons before he took back his words.
Chapter 7 of The Snowshoe Trail is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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 defamatory or abusive word or phrase
From this reading “He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.”
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.”
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.”
a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language
From this reading “Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.”
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading “"What did you say?" he asked, menacing.”
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading “But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.”
a playing card in the major suit that has one or more black figures on it
From this reading “Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.”
relating to or concerned with strategy
From this reading “But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.”
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 He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
in addition
From this reading Also he always had good reasons before he took back his words.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Also he always had good reasons before he took back his words.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.
From this reading Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What did you say?" he asked, menacing.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Also he always had good reasons before he took back his words.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Also he always had good reasons before he took back his words.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "What did you say?" he asked, menacing.
a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Also he always had good reasons before he took back his words.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "What did you say?" he asked, menacing.
past form of “hesitate” — pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Also he always had good reasons before he took back his words.
a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language
From this reading Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
From this reading "What did you say?" he asked, menacing.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.
plural of “reason” — a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading Also he always had good reasons before he took back his words.
express in words
From this reading "What did you say?" he asked, menacing.
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.
a playing card in the major suit that has one or more black figures on it
From this reading Bill had never hesitated, by the light of an ancient idiom, to call a spade a spade.
relating to or concerned with strategy
From this reading But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Also he always had good reasons before he took back his words.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading But by taking it up Harold made a severe strategical error.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What did you say?" he asked, menacing.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading He had caught a word that has come to be an epithet in the North.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Also he always had good reasons before he took back his words.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What did you say?" he asked, menacing.
Chapter 7 of The Snowshoe Trail by Edison Marshall holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 7 holds 416 sentences of The Snowshoe Trail, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Snowshoe Trail by Edison Marshall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 7 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 Snowshoe Trail by Edison Marshall on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5832 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24695 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24695, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 486 minutes of reading across 1167 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Snowshoe Trail section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Snowshoe Trail 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 Snowshoe Trail, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
