Chapter 15 of West Wind Drift is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of West Wind Drift is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was the noon hour. Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past. They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles. Here and there were groups of women talking earnestly, excitedly. Abel Landover was leaning in his doorway, watching her approach.
Chapter 15 of West Wind Drift is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
Norwegian mathematician (1802-1829)
From this reading “Abel Landover was leaning in his doorway, watching her approach.”
in a brisk manner
From this reading “Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.”
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading “Here and there were groups of women talking earnestly, excitedly.”
plural of “group” — any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
From this reading “Here and there were groups of women talking earnestly, excitedly.”
plural of “hut” — temporary military shelter
From this reading “Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.”
showing your contempt by derision
From this reading “They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.”
a large number or amount
From this reading “Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.”
inflected form of “stride” — walk with long steps
From this reading “Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.”
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.
Norwegian mathematician (1802-1829)
From this reading Abel Landover was leaning in his doorway, watching her approach.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Here and there were groups of women talking earnestly, excitedly.
move towards
From this reading Abel Landover was leaning in his doorway, watching her approach.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
in a brisk manner
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
in a cheerful manner
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading Abel Landover was leaning in his doorway, watching her approach.
in a serious manner
From this reading Here and there were groups of women talking earnestly, excitedly.
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading Here and there were groups of women talking earnestly, excitedly.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
plural of “group” — any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
From this reading Here and there were groups of women talking earnestly, excitedly.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Abel Landover was leaning in his doorway, watching her approach.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here and there were groups of women talking earnestly, excitedly.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Abel Landover was leaning in his doorway, watching her approach.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading It was the noon hour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
plural of “hut” — temporary military shelter
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the noon hour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Abel Landover was leaning in his doorway, watching her approach.
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading Abel Landover was leaning in his doorway, watching her approach.
the force of workers available
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
showing your contempt by derision
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
the middle of the day
From this reading It was the noon hour.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
-ing form of “rest” — not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
a large number or amount
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
plural of “smile” — a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
inflected form of “stride” — walk with long steps
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading Here and there were groups of women talking earnestly, excitedly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was the noon hour.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
in or at that place or location
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They all smiled cheerily, but there was good humoured mockery in their smiles.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the noon hour.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading Abel Landover was leaning in his doorway, watching her approach.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Scores of men were resting in the shade of the huts as she strode briskly past.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Here and there were groups of women talking earnestly, excitedly.
Chapter 15 of West Wind Drift by George Barr McCutcheon holds 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 15 holds 198 sentences of West Wind Drift, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of West Wind Drift by George Barr McCutcheon exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 15 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 West Wind Drift by George Barr McCutcheon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7048 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6014 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6014, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 587 minutes of reading across 1410 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through West Wind Drift section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of West Wind Drift 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 West Wind Drift, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
