Northern Lights

Chapter XVI

Chapter 16 of Northern Lights is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Gilbert Parker • Curated US English Learning Edition

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

Dan nodded.

"Yes, over at Askatoon; five hundred on Jibway, the favorite--he fell at the last fence; five hundred at poker with Nick Fison; and a thousand in land speculation at Edmonton, on margin.

Everything went wrong."

"And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"

"It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks, too.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XVI Reading 1/79

Northern Lights

Chapter XVI

Chapter 16 of Northern Lights is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

Dan nodded.

Line 2

"Yes, over at Askatoon; five hundred on Jibway, the favorite--he fell at the last fence; five hundred at poker with Nick Fison; and a thousand in land speculation at Edmonton, on margin.

Line 3

Everything went wrong."

/ˈevriθɪŋ went rɔːŋ/

Line 4

"And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"

Line 5

"It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks, too.

Learner Dictionary

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.

certainty noun US /ˈsɜːrtənti/

the state of being certain

From this reading “"It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks, too.”

company's noun US /ˈkʌmpəniz/

possessive form of “company” — an institution created to conduct business

From this reading “"And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"”

Edmonton noun US /ˈedməntən/

the capital of the province of Alberta

From this reading “"Yes, over at Askatoon; five hundred on Jibway, the favorite--he fell at the last fence; five hundred at poker with Nick Fison; and a thousand in land speculation at Edmonton, on margin.”

favorite noun US /ˈfeɪvərɪt/

something regarded with special favor or liking

margin noun US /ˈmɑːrdʒən/

the boundary line or the area immediately inside the boundary

Nick verb US /nɪk/

cut slightly, with a razor

poker noun US /ˈpoʊkər/

fire iron consisting of a metal rod with a handle; used to stir a fire

speculation noun US /ˌspekjəˈleɪʃən/

a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

five hundred noun + noun

the cardinal number that is the product of one hundred and five

In this reading “"Yes, over at Askatoon; five hundred on Jibway, the favorite--he fell at the last fence; five hundred at poker with Nick Fison; and a thousand in land speculation at Edmonton, on margin.”

railway company's noun + noun counted as “railway company”

In this reading “"And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"”

went wrong verb + adjective counted as “go wrong”

be unsuccessful

In this reading “Everything went wrong."”

All words in this reading · 46

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading "Yes, over at Askatoon; five hundred on Jibway, the favorite--he fell at the last fence; five hundred at poker with Nick Fison; and a thousand in land speculation at Edmonton, on margin.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

Askatoon

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

certaintynounUS /ˈsɜːrtənti/

the state of being certain

From this reading "It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks, too.

company'snounUS /ˈkʌmpəniz/

possessive form of “company” — an institution created to conduct business

From this reading "And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"

corner-blocks

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks, too.

Dan

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Dan nodded.

deadadjectiveUS /ded/

no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life

From this reading "It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks, too.

EdmontonnounUS /ˈedməntən/

the capital of the province of Alberta

EverythingpronounUS /ˈevriθɪŋ/

all things; all of a situation

From this reading Everything went wrong."

favoritenounUS /ˈfeɪvərɪt/

something regarded with special favor or liking

fellverbUS /fel/

cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow

fenceverbUS /fens/

enclose with a fence

Fison

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

fivenounUS /faɪv/

the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one

handnounUS /hænd/

the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

From this reading "And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

hundrednounUS /ˈhʌndrəd/

ten 10s

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading "It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks, too.

Jibway

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

landnounUS /lænd/

the land on which real estate is located

lastadjectiveUS /læst/

immediately past

marginnounUS /ˈmɑːrdʒən/

the boundary line or the area immediately inside the boundary

money-chest

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"

NickverbUS /nɪk/

cut slightly, with a razor

noddedverbUS /ˈnɑːdəd/

inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding

From this reading Dan nodded.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

pokernounUS /ˈpoʊkər/

fire iron consisting of a metal rod with a handle; used to stir a fire

putverbUS /pʊt/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading "And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"

railwaynounUS /ˈreɪlweɪ/

line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight

From this reading "And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"

seemedverbUS /siːmd/

past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect

From this reading "It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks, too.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading "And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"

speculationnounUS /ˌspekjəˈleɪʃən/

a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading "It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks, too.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

thousandnounUS /ˈθaʊzənd/

the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100

tooadverbUS /tuː/

to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits

From this reading "It seemed such a dead certainty--Jibway; and the Edmonton corner-blocks, too.

wentverbUS /went/

inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading Everything went wrong."

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

wrongadjectiveUS /rɔːŋ/

not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth

From this reading Everything went wrong."

YesnounUS /jes/

an affirmative

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "And so you put your hand in the railway company's money-chest?"

Chapter 16 of Northern Lights by Gilbert Parker holds 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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.

What does chapter 16 of Northern Lights contain?

Chapter 16 holds 397 sentences of Northern Lights, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 16 of Northern Lights by Gilbert Parker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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.

How do I study chapter 16 of Northern Lights?

Work through the 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 80 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.

Can chapter 16 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Northern Lights

Common questions about reading Northern Lights by Gilbert Parker on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Northern Lights?

Yes. All 6434 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26905 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Northern Lights is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #26905, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Northern Lights take to read?

About 536 minutes of reading across 1287 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Northern Lights section by section

How to work through Northern Lights section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 16 chapters of Northern Lights to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Northern Lights

Words and structures a reader meets early in Northern Lights, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Northern: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Northern Lights; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Lights: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Northern Lights; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Illustrated: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Northern Lights; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Weavers: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Northern Lights; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XVI

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