Chapter 17 of Winter Fun is here in full — 92 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Winter Fun is here in full — 92 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SNOW-FORT. There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's. It began before breakfast. In some sleeping-rooms it began before people were out of bed. It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
Chapter 17 of Winter Fun is here in full — 92 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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 vaguely specified concern
From this reading “It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.”
a quantity of money
From this reading “There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.”
United States artist whose paintings portrayed life in the Midwest and South (1889-1975)
From this reading “There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.”
past form of “discuss” — to consider or examine in speech or writing
From this reading “It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.”
possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.”
past form of “perform” — carry out or perform an action
From this reading “There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.”
young nobleman attendant on a knight
From this reading “There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.”
a building with a bar that is licensed to sell alcoholic drinks
From this reading “It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.”
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.
In this reading “It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.”
In this reading “There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.”
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.”
In this reading “It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.”
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 There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
(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 It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
a quantity of money
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading In some sleeping-rooms it began before people were out of bed.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It began before breakfast.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading It began before breakfast.
United States artist whose paintings portrayed life in the Midwest and South (1889-1975)
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading It began before breakfast.
the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
past form of “discuss” — to consider or examine in speech or writing
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It began before breakfast.
possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading In some sleeping-rooms it began before people were out of bed.
above and across; more than
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading In some sleeping-rooms it began before people were out of bed.
past form of “perform” — carry out or perform an action
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In some sleeping-rooms it began before people were out of bed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE SNOW-FORT.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading In some sleeping-rooms it began before people were out of bed.
young nobleman attendant on a knight
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
a building with a bar that is licensed to sell alcoholic drinks
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SNOW-FORT.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a large amount of conversation performed in Benton Valley the day following the party at Squire King's.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading In some sleeping-rooms it began before people were out of bed.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading It went on all over the village; and the whole affair was discussed at the drug-store, and in the blacksmith-shop, and at the tavern.
Chapter 17 of Winter Fun by William O. Stoddard holds 92 sentences, grouped into 19 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 92 sentences of Winter Fun, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Winter Fun by William O. Stoddard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 92 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 Winter Fun by William O. Stoddard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3694 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35042 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35042, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 307 minutes of reading across 739 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Winter Fun section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Winter Fun 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 Winter Fun, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
