Chapter 16 of Blackthorn Farm is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Blackthorn Farm is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"YOU’VE KILLED HIM." Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland. In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them. Rupert felt a thrill of excitement. The first thrill he had experienced for many weeks.
Chapter 16 of Blackthorn Farm is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading “Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland.”
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading “Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland.”
open land usually with peaty soil covered with heather and bracken and moss
From this reading “Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland.”
English leader (born in Germany) of the Royalist forces during the English Civil War (1619-1682)
From this reading “Rupert felt a thrill of excitement.”
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading “In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.”
-ing form of “swarm” — be teeming, be abuzz
From this reading “In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.”
the swift release of a store of affective force
From this reading “Rupert felt a thrill of excitement.”
plural of “warder” — a person who works in a prison and is in charge of prisoners
From this reading “In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.”
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 “In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.”
In this reading “Rupert felt a thrill of excitement.”
In this reading “The first thrill he had experienced for many weeks.”
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 In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
anew
From this reading Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
make a resonant sound, like artillery
From this reading Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland.
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading Rupert felt a thrill of excitement.
having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation
From this reading The first thrill he had experienced for many weeks.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Rupert felt a thrill of excitement.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The first thrill he had experienced for many weeks.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The first thrill he had experienced for many weeks.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The first thrill he had experienced for many weeks.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "YOU’VE KILLED HIM."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading "YOU’VE KILLED HIM."
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading The first thrill he had experienced for many weeks.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
open land usually with peaty soil covered with heather and bracken and moss
From this reading Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Rupert felt a thrill of excitement.
above and across; more than
From this reading Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland.
English leader (born in Germany) of the Royalist forces during the English Civil War (1619-1682)
From this reading Rupert felt a thrill of excitement.
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
-ing form of “swarm” — be teeming, be abuzz
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Again the dull boom echoed over the moorland.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
the swift release of a store of affective force
From this reading Rupert felt a thrill of excitement.
plural of “warder” — a person who works in a prison and is in charge of prisoners
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading The first thrill he had experienced for many weeks.
in the company of; together with
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading In a few minutes the hill would be swarming with warders searching for them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "YOU’VE KILLED HIM."
Chapter 16 of Blackthorn Farm by Arthur Applin holds 125 sentences, grouped into 25 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 16 holds 125 sentences of Blackthorn Farm, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Blackthorn Farm by Arthur Applin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 125 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 16 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 Blackthorn Farm by Arthur Applin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5795 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42519 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42519, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 482 minutes of reading across 1159 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Blackthorn Farm section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Blackthorn Farm 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 Blackthorn Farm, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
