Chapter 11 of The defender is here in full — 26 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The defender is here in full — 26 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished. Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss. He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel. Someone must be there. But who?
Chapter 11 of The defender is here in full — 26 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/5 · 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.
not functioning properly
From this reading “Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.”
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading “Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.”
rock fragments and pebbles
From this reading “He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.”
a person who rules or guides or inspires others
From this reading “Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.”
plural of “ram” — the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on
From this reading “Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.”
the act of separating grain from chaff
From this reading “He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “Someone must be there.”
having passed out of existence
From this reading “Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.”
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.
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 Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
not functioning properly
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Someone must be there.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
made afraid
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
rock fragments and pebbles
From this reading He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.
and nothing more
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
a person who rules or guides or inspires others
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Someone must be there.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.
plural of “ram” — the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
From this reading He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
the act of separating grain from chaff
From this reading He listened, and heard a noise as of sifting sand and gravel.
a person, without saying who
From this reading Someone must be there.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Someone must be there.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
having passed out of existence
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
a message informing of danger
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Turgen looked to see what had frightened them, but could discover nothing amiss.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Just then the leader sounded a sharp warning upon which the rams vanished.
which person or people
From this reading But who?
Chapter 11 of The defender by Nicholas Kalashnikoff holds 26 sentences, grouped into 6 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 26 sentences of The defender, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The defender by Nicholas Kalashnikoff exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 26 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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.
Common questions about reading The defender by Nicholas Kalashnikoff 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 The defender section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The defender 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 The defender, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
