Chapter 16 of The last vial is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The last vial is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
We stayed in the village for three weeks. Each day Makstutis and Kang were a little better. "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients. "The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now." "They can't march all the way to the coast," Anders said dubiously.
Chapter 16 of The last vial is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
someone whose employment involves carrying something
From this reading “"The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now."”
the shore of a sea or ocean
From this reading “"They can't march all the way to the coast," Anders said dubiously.”
in a questionable and dubious manner
From this reading “"They can't march all the way to the coast," Anders said dubiously.”
past form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading “"We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.”
march in a procession
From this reading “"They can't march all the way to the coast," Anders said dubiously.”
plural of “patient” — a person who requires medical care
From this reading “"We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.”
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “We stayed in the village for three weeks.”
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading “We stayed in the village for three weeks.”
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 “We stayed in the village for three weeks.”
In this reading “"We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “"We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.”
In this reading “We stayed in the village for three weeks.”
In this reading “We stayed in the village for three weeks.”
In this reading “We stayed in the village for three weeks.”
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 Each day Makstutis and Kang were a little better.
a nuclear weapon in which enormous energy is released by nuclear fission (splitting the nuclei of a heavy element like uranium 235 or plutonium 239)
From this reading "The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now."
later than; following
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
(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 "They can't march all the way to the coast," Anders said dubiously.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Each day Makstutis and Kang were a little better.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Each day Makstutis and Kang were a little better.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "They can't march all the way to the coast," Anders said dubiously.
someone whose employment involves carrying something
From this reading "The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now."
the shore of a sea or ocean
From this reading "They can't march all the way to the coast," Anders said dubiously.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Each day Makstutis and Kang were a little better.
in a questionable and dubious manner
From this reading "They can't march all the way to the coast," Anders said dubiously.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading Each day Makstutis and Kang were a little better.
past form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading We stayed in the village for three weeks.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We stayed in the village for three weeks.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now."
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading "The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Each day Makstutis and Kang were a little better.
immediately past
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Each day Makstutis and Kang were a little better.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Each day Makstutis and Kang were a little better.
march in a procession
From this reading "They can't march all the way to the coast," Anders said dubiously.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
plural of “patient” — a person who requires medical care
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading "The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now."
precisely, exactly
From this reading "The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading We stayed in the village for three weeks.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We stayed in the village for three weeks.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "They can't march all the way to the coast," Anders said dubiously.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading We stayed in the village for three weeks.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading We stayed in the village for three weeks.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "The A-bomb carrier is probably on its way right now."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We stayed in the village for three weeks.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading "We have to get out of here," I said to Anders one day in the last week, after we had examined our patients.
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading We stayed in the village for three weeks.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Each day Makstutis and Kang were a little better.
Chapter 16 of The last vial by Sam McClatchie holds 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 449 sentences of The last vial, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The last vial by Sam McClatchie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 last vial by Sam McClatchie 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 last vial section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The last vial 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 last vial, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
