Chapter 17 of Changeling, and Other Stories is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Changeling, and Other Stories is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised. And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw. And he tumbled to the boards on his side. He was very dull, very dazed. For a while he knew nothing.
Chapter 17 of Changeling, and Other Stories is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
(used in the plural) the stage of a theater
From this reading “And he tumbled to the boards on his side.”
a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
From this reading “And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.”
gathered together or made less diffuse
From this reading “And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.”
past form of “crash” — fall or come down violently
From this reading “And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.”
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading “He was very dull, very dazed.”
the part of a gunlock that strikes the percussion cap when the trigger is pulled
From this reading “And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.”
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading “And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.”
marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
From this reading “And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.”
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.
anew
In this reading “And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.”
at or in the front
In this reading “And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.”
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 For a while he knew nothing.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.
(used in the plural) the stage of a theater
From this reading And he tumbled to the boards on his side.
a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
From this reading And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.
gathered together or made less diffuse
From this reading And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.
past form of “crash” — fall or come down violently
From this reading And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading He was very dull, very dazed.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading He was very dull, very dazed.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a while he knew nothing.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.
the part of a gunlock that strikes the percussion cap when the trigger is pulled
From this reading And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And he tumbled to the boards on his side.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And he tumbled to the boards on his side.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading For a while he knew nothing.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading For a while he knew nothing.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.
on one occasion
From this reading And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.
marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
From this reading And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading And he tumbled to the boards on his side.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And once more the hammer crashed on the jaw.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And he tumbled to the boards on his side.
past form of “tumble” — fall down, as if collapsing
From this reading And he tumbled to the boards on his side.
precisely as stated
From this reading He was very dull, very dazed.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And now Chip was in front of him, concentrated, poised.
during the time that
From this reading For a while he knew nothing.
Chapter 17 of Changeling, and Other Stories by Donn Byrne holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 406 sentences of Changeling, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Changeling, and Other Stories by Donn Byrne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Changeling, and Other Stories by Donn Byrne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6965 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59892 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59892, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 580 minutes of reading across 1393 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Changeling, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Changeling, and Other Stories 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 Changeling, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
