Chapter 17 of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains is here in full — 244 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains is here in full — 244 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.” “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this. I think I’ll go back.” “Better see it out, Daisy. This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
Chapter 17 of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains is here in full — 244 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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 United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)
From this reading “This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.””
any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
From this reading ““Better see it out, Daisy.”
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading ““Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.””
plural of “geyser” — a spring that discharges hot water and steam
From this reading “This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.””
past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading ““Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.”
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading “This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.””
and nothing more
From this reading ““Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.””
a tributary of the Missouri River that flows through the Yellowstone National Park
From this reading “This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.””
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.
any thing at all
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading I think I’ll go back.”
a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
(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 “Better see it out, Daisy.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
From this reading “Better see it out, Daisy.
dearly loved
From this reading “Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.”
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading “Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
plural of “geyser” — a spring that discharges hot water and steam
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I think I’ll go back.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I think I’ll go back.”
past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Better see it out, Daisy.
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
and nothing more
From this reading “Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.”
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “Better see it out, Daisy.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading I think I’ll go back.”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
(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 “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.”
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
a tributary of the Missouri River that flows through the Yellowstone National Park
From this reading This beats the geysers or anything we’re likely to find in the Yellowstone.”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, my dear, that’s merely what he’s doing.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Well, I don’t see why you imagined I should care for this.
Chapter 17 of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister holds 244 sentences, grouped into 49 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 17 holds 244 sentences of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 244 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 17 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 Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9717 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1298 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1298, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1944 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains 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 Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
