Chapter X of The Phantom Violin, “Silent Battle,” is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter X
Chapter X of The Phantom Violin, “Silent Battle,” is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock. “Did he see me?” she asked herself. “And if he did?” Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening. Her mind was in a whirl.
Chapter X of The Phantom Violin, “Silent Battle,” is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do
From this reading “Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.”
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading “Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.”
nonresinous wood of a fir tree
From this reading “Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.”
capable of arousing and holding the attention
From this reading “Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.”
shielding (or designed to shield) against harm or discomfort
From this reading “Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.”
directly and without evasion; not roundabout
From this reading “Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.”
of imposing height; especially standing out above others
From this reading “Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.”
turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading “Her mind was in a whirl.”
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.
any of various evergreen trees of the genus Abies; chiefly of upland areas
In this reading “Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.”
In this reading “Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.”
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 Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Did he see me?” she asked herself.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
plural of “branch” — a division of some larger or more complex organization
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
the bodily process of inhalation and exhalation; the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “Did he see me?” she asked herself.
nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
nonresinous wood of a fir tree
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
a city in central Italy on the Arno; provincial capital of Tuscany; center of the Italian Renaissance from 14th to 16th centuries
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
capable of arousing and holding the attention
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Did he see me?” she asked herself.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading “Did he see me?” she asked herself.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “And if he did?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Her mind was in a whirl.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Did he see me?” she asked herself.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Her mind was in a whirl.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
shielding (or designed to shield) against harm or discomfort
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “Did he see me?” she asked herself.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Did he see me?” she asked herself.
directly and without evasion; not roundabout
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
not in physical motion
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
of imposing height; especially standing out above others
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading Dropping back into the protecting branches of a black old fir tree, she stood breathing hard, listening.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Ten minutes of running and dodging brought Florence, still gripping her rifle, squarely against a towering wall of rock.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Her mind was in a whirl.
turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading Her mind was in a whirl.
Chapter 10 of The Phantom Violin by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell holds 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 10 holds 140 sentences of The Phantom Violin, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Phantom Violin by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 10 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 Phantom Violin by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4180 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44294 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44294, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 348 minutes of reading across 836 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Phantom Violin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Phantom Violin 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 Phantom Violin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
