Chapter XI of Cease Firing, “Prison X,” is here in full — 361 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter XI of Cease Firing, “Prison X,” is here in full — 361 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard. The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows. It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate. The inanimate made few demands save those of space and security. The animate might demand, but they did not receive.
Chapter XI of Cease Firing, “Prison X,” is here in full — 361 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/72 · 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.
heighten or intensify
From this reading “It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.”
rectangular block of clay baked by the sun or in a kiln; used as a building or paving material
From this reading “The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.”
plural of “demand” — an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading “The inanimate made few demands save those of space and security.”
closed in or surrounded or included within
From this reading “The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.”
past form of “grate” — furnish with a grate
From this reading “The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.”
belonging to the class of nouns denoting nonliving things
From this reading “It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.”
fortification consisting of a fence made of a line of stout posts set firmly for defense
From this reading “The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.”
inflected form of “tread” — put down or press the foot, place the foot
From this reading “The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.”
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 “The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.”
In this reading “The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.”
In this reading “The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.”
In this reading “The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.”
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 The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
heighten or intensify
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
completely unclothed
From this reading The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
rectangular block of clay baked by the sun or in a kiln; used as a building or paving material
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The animate might demand, but they did not receive.
overfilled or compacted or concentrated
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading The animate might demand, but they did not receive.
plural of “demand” — an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading The inanimate made few demands save those of space and security.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading The animate might demand, but they did not receive.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.
closed in or surrounded or included within
From this reading The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
past form of “grate” — furnish with a grate
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
belonging to the class of nouns denoting nonliving things
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The inanimate made few demands save those of space and security.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading The animate might demand, but they did not receive.
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The animate might demand, but they did not receive.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
get something; come into possession of
From this reading The animate might demand, but they did not receive.
except for; apart from
From this reading The inanimate made few demands save those of space and security.
the state of being free from danger or injury
From this reading The inanimate made few demands save those of space and security.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading The inanimate made few demands save those of space and security.
fortification consisting of a fence made of a line of stout posts set firmly for defense
From this reading The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The animate might demand, but they did not receive.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading The inanimate made few demands save those of space and security.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It had been built to store the inanimate, and now it was crowded with the animate.
inflected form of “tread” — put down or press the foot, place the foot
From this reading The stockade enclosed a half-acre of bare earth, trodden hard.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The prison was a huge old brick building with a few narrow, grated windows.
Chapter 11 of Cease Firing by Mary Johnston holds 361 sentences, grouped into 73 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 11 holds 361 sentences of Cease Firing, unabridged, divided into 73 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Cease Firing by Mary Johnston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 361 sentences, grouped into 73 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 73 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 73 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 11 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 Cease Firing by Mary Johnston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11895 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52154 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52154, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2379 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cease Firing section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Cease Firing 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 Cease Firing, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
