Chapter 15 of Northern Diamonds is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Northern Diamonds is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap. It was gone. The sky was bright with dawn. Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles. Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
Chapter 15 of Northern Diamonds is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading “Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.”
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading “Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.”
lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another
From this reading “Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.”
past form of “level” — aim at
From this reading “Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.”
a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
From this reading “Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.”
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading “Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.”
plural of “rifle” — a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore
From this reading “Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.”
to grasp hastily or eagerly
From this reading “Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.”
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 “Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.”
In this reading “Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.”
In this reading “Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.”
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 Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading The sky was bright with dawn.
the first light of day
From this reading The sky was bright with dawn.
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
destroyed or killed
From this reading It was gone.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
the act of retaining something
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was gone.
lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
past form of “level” — aim at
From this reading Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
the force of workers available
From this reading Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
plural of “rifle” — a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore
From this reading Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The sky was bright with dawn.
to grasp hastily or eagerly
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Half awake, Fred made a blind snatch at the rifle that had been across his lap.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Ten feet away stood three men with leveled rifles.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was gone.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Horace and Mac were sitting up, holding their hands above their heads and looking dazed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The sky was bright with dawn.
Chapter 15 of Northern Diamonds by Frank Lillie Pollock holds 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 15 holds 198 sentences of Northern Diamonds, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Northern Diamonds by Frank Lillie Pollock exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 15 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 Northern Diamonds by Frank Lillie Pollock on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3407 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32323 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32323, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 283 minutes of reading across 682 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Northern Diamonds section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Northern Diamonds 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 Northern Diamonds, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
