Chapter 16 of The defender is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The defender is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse. Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope. Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first. The lamb’s eyes, raised to his, were black with terror. It tried convulsively to rise but could not.
Chapter 16 of The defender is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/12 · 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.
a deep fissure
From this reading “Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.”
-ing form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading “Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.”
move with or as if with a rushing sound
From this reading “Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.”
young sheep
From this reading “Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.”
possessive form of “lamb” — young sheep
not in physical motion
From this reading “Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.”
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.”
an elevated geological formation
From this reading “Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.”
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.
In this reading “Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.”
In this reading “Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.”
In this reading “The lamb’s eyes, raised to his, were black with terror.”
In this reading “Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.”
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.
plural of “animal” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The lamb’s eyes, raised to his, were black with terror.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It tried convulsively to rise but could not.
with convulsions, in a convulsive way
From this reading It tried convulsively to rise but could not.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading It tried convulsively to rise but could not.
a deep fissure
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The lamb’s eyes, raised to his, were black with terror.
-ing form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
move with or as if with a rushing sound
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It tried convulsively to rise but could not.
young sheep
From this reading Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.
possessive form of “lamb” — young sheep
From this reading The lamb’s eyes, raised to his, were black with terror.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
not in physical motion
From this reading Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.
a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It tried convulsively to rise but could not.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.
above and across; more than
From this reading Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.
with speed
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading The lamb’s eyes, raised to his, were black with terror.
move upward
From this reading It tried convulsively to rise but could not.
cut with a saw
From this reading Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.
an elevated geological formation
From this reading Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading The lamb’s eyes, raised to his, were black with terror.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, peering over, he saw the lamb lying motionless on the mountain slope.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading It tried convulsively to rise but could not.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading Turgen’s heart turned in him as he watched the small body hurtle down the crevasse.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The lamb’s eyes, raised to his, were black with terror.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The lamb’s eyes, raised to his, were black with terror.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Quickly, he made his way to the spot, fearing that wild animals would get there first.
Chapter 16 of The defender by Nicholas Kalashnikoff holds 63 sentences, grouped into 13 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 63 sentences of The defender, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The defender by Nicholas Kalashnikoff exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 63 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 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.
