Chapter 16 of "Piracy" is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of "Piracy" is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The days of crisis passed. Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death. One morning, at last, he really did wake up. Weakly, he noticed the room. There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
Chapter 16 of "Piracy" is here in full — 98 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
free from obscurity and easy to understand; the comprehensibility of clear expression
From this reading “Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.”
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading “Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.”
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading “The days of crisis passed.”
giving courage or confidence or hope
From this reading “There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.”
English physician and scientist who described the circulation of the blood; he later proposed that all animals originate from an ovum produced by the female of the species (1578-1657)
From this reading “Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.”
close at hand
From this reading “There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.”
plural of “noise” — sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading “There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.”
in a weak or feeble manner or to a minor degree
From this reading “Weakly, he noticed the room.”
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.
cause to become awake or conscious
In this reading “One morning, at last, he really did wake up.”
In this reading “There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.”
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 There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading One morning, at last, he really did wake up.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
in a cheerful manner
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
free from obscurity and easy to understand; the comprehensibility of clear expression
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
past form of “confide” — reveal in private; tell confidentially
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
From this reading The days of crisis passed.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading The days of crisis passed.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading One morning, at last, he really did wake up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
giving courage or confidence or hope
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
English physician and scientist who described the circulation of the blood; he later proposed that all animals originate from an ovum produced by the female of the species (1578-1657)
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading One morning, at last, he really did wake up.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
immediately past
From this reading One morning, at last, he really did wake up.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading One morning, at last, he really did wake up.
close at hand
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
not any; not one
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
plural of “noise” — sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
being perceived or observed
From this reading Weakly, he noticed the room.
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
occurring from time to time
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The days of crisis passed.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One morning, at last, he really did wake up.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading The days of crisis passed.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading One morning, at last, he really did wake up.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Weakly, he noticed the room.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The days of crisis passed.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a nurse nearby, and she smiled at him cheerfully, making encouraging noises.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
fraught with danger
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading One morning, at last, he really did wake up.
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading One morning, at last, he really did wake up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Dr. Harvey confided to Trevor that it was touch-and-go, but Ivor, in that occasional clarity of intense fever, had no thought of death.
in a weak or feeble manner or to a minor degree
From this reading Weakly, he noticed the room.
Chapter 16 of "Piracy" by Michael Arlen holds 98 sentences, grouped into 20 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 98 sentences of "Piracy", unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of "Piracy" by Michael Arlen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 98 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 "Piracy" by Michael Arlen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through "Piracy" section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of "Piracy" 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 "Piracy", each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
