Chapter 11 of The Boy Allies at Verdun is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Boy Allies at Verdun is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark. There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor. Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down. Hal arose to his feet slowly. In his hand he held a smoking revolver.
Chapter 11 of The Boy Allies at Verdun is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading “Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.”
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.”
someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another without permission
From this reading “Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.”
inflected form of “pin” — to hold fast or prevent from moving
From this reading “Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.”
past form of “pounce” — move down on as if in an attack
From this reading “Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.”
past form of “reel” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.”
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading “In his hand he held a smoking revolver.”
the act of smoking tobacco or other substances
From this reading “In his hand he held a smoking revolver.”
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 came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
inflected form of “arise” — come into existence; take on form or shape
From this reading Hal arose to his feet slowly.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
at or to or toward the back or rear
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
be a farmer; work as a farmer
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Hal arose to his feet slowly.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
A hot glowing body of ignited gas produced by fire.
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hal arose to his feet slowly.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading In his hand he held a smoking revolver.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading In his hand he held a smoking revolver.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Hal arose to his feet slowly.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In his hand he held a smoking revolver.
someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another without permission
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
attach a tag or label to
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
inflected form of “pin” — to hold fast or prevent from moving
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
past form of “pounce” — move down on as if in an attack
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
past form of “reel” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading In his hand he held a smoking revolver.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Hal arose to his feet slowly.
the act of smoking tobacco or other substances
From this reading In his hand he held a smoking revolver.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE BATTLE OF THIAUMONT FARM But the knife never reached its mark.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There came a sudden loud report, a flash of flame and the knife clattered to the floor.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Matin reeled and fell backward, and as he did so the second intruder pounced upon him and pinned him down.
Chapter 11 of The Boy Allies at Verdun by Clair W. (Clair Wallace) Hayes holds 169 sentences, grouped into 34 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 11 holds 169 sentences of The Boy Allies at Verdun, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Boy Allies at Verdun by Clair W. (Clair Wallace) Hayes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 169 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #13020, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 340 minutes of reading across 819 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy Allies at Verdun section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Boy Allies at Verdun, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
