Chapter 16 of Scorched Earth is here in full — 533 sentences across 107 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Scorched Earth is here in full — 533 sentences across 107 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why don't we just shoot the birds? That shouldn't be too difficult!" Manguino suggested. "Our weapons don't have the range to shoot the birds that high up!" He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
Chapter 16 of Scorched Earth is here in full — 533 sentences across 107 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/106 · 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.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “"Why don't we just shoot the birds?”
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “That shouldn't be too difficult!"”
armor plate that protects the head
From this reading “He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.”
an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
From this reading “"Our weapons don't have the range to shoot the birds that high up!"”
separated in relationship by a given degree of descent
From this reading “He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.”
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading “"Why don't we just shoot the birds?”
past form of “suggest” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading “Manguino suggested.”
plural of “weapon” — any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading “"Our weapons don't have the range to shoot the birds that high up!"”
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.
temporarily
In this reading “He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.”
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 He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading That shouldn't be too difficult!"
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading "Why don't we just shoot the birds?
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading That shouldn't be too difficult!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why don't we just shoot the birds?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Our weapons don't have the range to shoot the birds that high up!"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
armor plate that protects the head
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading "Our weapons don't have the range to shoot the birds that high up!"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
and nothing more
From this reading "Why don't we just shoot the birds?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Manguino suggested.
a particular point in time
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "Our weapons don't have the range to shoot the birds that high up!"
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 sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
From this reading "Our weapons don't have the range to shoot the birds that high up!"
separated in relationship by a given degree of descent
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading "Why don't we just shoot the birds?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That shouldn't be too difficult!"
past form of “suggest” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading Manguino suggested.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That shouldn't be too difficult!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Why don't we just shoot the birds?
in spite of the fact that
From this reading He sat down for a moment and removed his great helmet and ran his fingers though his sweaty hair.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Our weapons don't have the range to shoot the birds that high up!"
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading That shouldn't be too difficult!"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Our weapons don't have the range to shoot the birds that high up!"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Why don't we just shoot the birds?
plural of “weapon” — any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading "Our weapons don't have the range to shoot the birds that high up!"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why don't we just shoot the birds?
Chapter 16 of Scorched Earth by Walter D. Petrovic holds 533 sentences, grouped into 107 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 533 sentences of Scorched Earth, unabridged, divided into 107 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Scorched Earth by Walter D. Petrovic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 533 sentences, grouped into 107 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 107 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 107 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 Scorched Earth by Walter D. Petrovic 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 Scorched Earth section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Scorched Earth 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 Scorched Earth, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
