Chapter 17 of Wilderness of Spring is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Wilderness of Spring is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Mother of God, what I put up with from you! Peace on it, Judah.... Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights. You won't see 'em, and yet you might. Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
Chapter 17 of Wilderness of Spring is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
briefly shut the eyes
From this reading “Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.”
(Old Testament) the fourth son of Jacob who was forebear of one of the tribes of Israel; one of his descendants was to be the Messiah
From this reading “Peace on it, Judah....”
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading “Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.”
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading “Peace on it, Judah....”
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading “Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.”
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading “Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.”
United States dancer and choreographer who collaborated with Ruth Saint Denis (1891-1972)
From this reading “Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.”
lacking kindness
From this reading “Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.”
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.
place so as to be noticed
In this reading “"Mother of God, what I put up with from you!”
In this reading “Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.”
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 Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You won't see 'em, and yet you might.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.
briefly shut the eyes
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
a quad with a square body
From this reading You won't see 'em, and yet you might.
the organ of sight
From this reading Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Mother of God, what I put up with from you!
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading "Mother of God, what I put up with from you!
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Mother of God, what I put up with from you!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Peace on it, Judah....
(Old Testament) the fourth son of Jacob who was forebear of one of the tribes of Israel; one of his descendants was to be the Messiah
From this reading Peace on it, Judah....
and nothing more
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading You won't see 'em, and yet you might.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "Mother of God, what I put up with from you!
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Mother of God, what I put up with from you!
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Peace on it, Judah....
on one occasion
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading Peace on it, Judah....
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "Mother of God, what I put up with from you!
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading You won't see 'em, and yet you might.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.
United States dancer and choreographer who collaborated with Ruth Saint Denis (1891-1972)
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
express in speech
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
lacking kindness
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Mother of God, what I put up with from you!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Mother of God, what I put up with from you!
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Mother of God, what I put up with from you!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You won't see 'em, and yet you might.
but in spite of that
From this reading You won't see 'em, and yet you might.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Mother of God, what I put up with from you!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Close 'em just once, any more 'n you need to blink, and you'll hear old Shawn speak in a manner unkind.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Keep your eye sharp for riding lights, Manuel--any lights.
Chapter 17 of Wilderness of Spring by Edgar Pangborn holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 17 holds 401 sentences of Wilderness of Spring, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Wilderness of Spring by Edgar Pangborn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Wilderness of Spring by Edgar Pangborn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8768 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39907 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39907, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1754 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wilderness of Spring section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Wilderness of Spring 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 Wilderness of Spring, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
