Scorched Earth

Chapter XI

Chapter 11 of Scorched Earth is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Walter D. Petrovic • Curated US English Learning Edition

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

She stirred and opened her big green eyes.

She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

She seemed frightened.

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 XI Reading 1/82

Scorched Earth

Chapter XI

Chapter 11 of Scorched Earth is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

/hiː liːnd əˈɡenst ðə ledʒ wɔːl ənd kept hɪz aɪz ɑːn hɜːr ənˈtɪl hiː pɔːrd sʌm ʌv ðə ˈwɔːtər frʌm hɪz sæk ˈɪntuː hɪz wɔːrm hænd ənd ræn ɪt əˈkrɔːs hɜːr feɪs/

Line 2

She stirred and opened her big green eyes.

/ʃiː stɜːrd ənd ˈoʊpənd hɜːr bɪɡ ɡriːn aɪz/

Line 3

She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

Line 4

She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

/ʃiː lʊkt əˈbaʊt æt ðə rɪˈses ɪn wɪtʃ ðeɪ ɔːl wɜːr ɪn ənd ʃiː tʊk æn ɪkˈsaɪtəd diːp breθ ənd ðen ˈʃɪvərd/

Line 5

She seemed frightened.

/ʃiː siːmd ˈfraɪtənd/

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.

frozen adjective US /ˈfroʊzən/

turned into ice; affected by freezing or by long and severe cold

From this reading “She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.”

ledge noun US /ledʒ/

a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water

From this reading “He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.”

Lloyd noun US /lɔɪd/

United States comic actor in silent films; he used physical danger as a source of comedy (1893-1971)

From this reading “She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.”

poured verb US /pɔːrd/

past form of “pour” — cause to run

From this reading “He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.”

recess verb US /rɪˈses/

put into a recess

From this reading “She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.”

sack noun US /sæk/

a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases

From this reading “He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.”

shivered verb US /ˈʃɪvərd/

past form of “shiver” — tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement

From this reading “She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.”

stirred adjective US /stɜːrd/

being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion

From this reading “She stirred and opened her big green eyes.”

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.

deep breath adjective + noun

In this reading “She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.”

leaned against verb + particle counted as “lean against”

rest on for support

In this reading “He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.”

looked at verb + particle counted as “look at”

take into consideration for exemplifying purposes

In this reading “She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.”

looked about verb + particle counted as “look about”

In this reading “She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.”

All words in this reading · 56

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.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

acrossprepositionUS /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

bigadjectiveUS /bɪɡ/

above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading She stirred and opened her big green eyes.

Boyce

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

From this reading She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

breathnounUS /breθ/

the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

deepadjectiveUS /diːp/

relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

excitedadjectiveUS /ɪkˈsaɪtəd/

(of persons) excessively affected by emotion

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

eyesnounUS /aɪz/

opinion or judgment

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

facenounUS /feɪs/

the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

frightenedadjectiveUS /ˈfraɪtənd/

made afraid

From this reading She seemed frightened.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

frozenadjectiveUS /ˈfroʊzən/

turned into ice; affected by freezing or by long and severe cold

From this reading She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

greennounUS /ɡriːn/

green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass

From this reading She stirred and opened her big green eyes.

handnounUS /hænd/

the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

HepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

keptadjectiveUS /kept/

(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

leanedverbUS /liːnd/

past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

leaningadjectiveUS /ˈliːnɪŋ/

departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal

From this reading She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

ledgenounUS /ledʒ/

a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

LloydnounUS /lɔɪd/

United States comic actor in silent films; he used physical danger as a source of comedy (1893-1971)

From this reading She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

lookedverbUS /lʊkt/

past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

openedadjectiveUS /ˈoʊpənd/

used of mouth or eyes

From this reading She stirred and opened her big green eyes.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

pouredverbUS /pɔːrd/

past form of “pour” — cause to run

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

ranverbUS /ræn/

inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

recessverbUS /rɪˈses/

put into a recess

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

sacknounUS /sæk/

a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

seemedverbUS /siːmd/

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

From this reading She seemed frightened.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She stirred and opened her big green eyes.

shiveredverbUS /ˈʃɪvərd/

past form of “shiver” — tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

staringadjectiveUS /ˈsterɪŋ/

(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder

From this reading She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

stirredadjectiveUS /stɜːrd/

being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion

From this reading She stirred and opened her big green eyes.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

thenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

tookverbUS /tʊk/

inflected form of “take” — carry out

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

untilprepositionUS /ənˈtɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

wallnounUS /wɔːl/

an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

warmadjectiveUS /wɔːrm/

having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

waternounUS /ˈwɔːtər/

binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent

From this reading He leaned against the ledge wall and kept his eyes on her until he poured some of the water from his sack, into his warm hand and ran it across her face.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading She looked about at the recess in which they all were in, and she took an excited deep breath and then shivered.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading She looked at Lloyd leaning over her and Boyce staring at her with frozen eyes.

Chapter 11 of Scorched Earth by Walter D. Petrovic holds 410 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.

What does chapter 11 of Scorched Earth contain?

Chapter 11 holds 410 sentences of Scorched Earth, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 11 of Scorched Earth by Walter D. Petrovic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 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.

How do I study chapter 11 of Scorched Earth?

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.

Can chapter 11 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Scorched Earth

Common questions about reading Scorched Earth by Walter D. Petrovic on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Scorched Earth?

Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Scorched Earth is used?

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

How long does Scorched Earth take to read?

About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in Scorched Earth

Words and structures a reader meets early in Scorched Earth, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Chapter 1: One of the 0 chapters of Scorched Earth, divided into 5-sentence reading sections.
Chapter 2: One of the 0 chapters of Scorched Earth, divided into 5-sentence reading sections.
Chapter 3: One of the 0 chapters of Scorched Earth, divided into 5-sentence reading sections.

Chapter XI

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