Chapter 5 of The Fight for Constantinople is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Fight for Constantinople is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged. In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer. Perhaps he took him for one of the German taskmasters. At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire. The slight delay gave Dick his chance.
Chapter 5 of The Fight for Constantinople is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
past form of “challenge” — take exception to
From this reading “A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.”
run or move very quickly or hastily
From this reading “A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.”
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading “The slight delay gave Dick his chance.”
detect with the senses
From this reading “In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.”
plural of “narrow” — a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water
From this reading “A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.”
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading “At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.”
a native or inhabitant of Turkey
From this reading “A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.”
always the same; showing a single form or character in all occurrences
From this reading “In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.”
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 “In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.”
In this reading “At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.”
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 A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
(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 At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
past form of “challenge” — take exception to
From this reading A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading The slight delay gave Dick his chance.
run or move very quickly or hastily
From this reading A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.
cause to be slowed down or delayed
From this reading The slight delay gave Dick his chance.
someone who is a detective
From this reading The slight delay gave Dick his chance.
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
detect with the senses
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
start firing a weapon
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Perhaps he took him for one of the German taskmasters.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading The slight delay gave Dick his chance.
a person of German nationality
From this reading Perhaps he took him for one of the German taskmasters.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Perhaps he took him for one of the German taskmasters.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
and nothing more
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
plural of “narrow” — a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water
From this reading A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.
not any; not one
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Perhaps he took him for one of the German taskmasters.
by chance
From this reading Perhaps he took him for one of the German taskmasters.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading At all events he merely held his rifle at the ready and made no attempt to fire.
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading The slight delay gave Dick his chance.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Perhaps he took him for one of the German taskmasters.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Perhaps he took him for one of the German taskmasters.
a native or inhabitant of Turkey
From this reading A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.
always the same; showing a single form or character in all occurrences
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A Dash up The Narrows The Turk challenged.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading In the dim light he was not able to discern the uniform of the young officer.
Chapter 5 of The Fight for Constantinople by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman holds 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 5 holds 198 sentences of The Fight for Constantinople, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Fight for Constantinople by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 5 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 Fight for Constantinople by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3406 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37600 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37600, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 283 minutes of reading across 682 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fight for Constantinople section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Fight for Constantinople 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 Fight for Constantinople, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
