Chapter 16 of The pit is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The pit is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing. "There," she cried, "now I feel better. That had to come out. Come over here and sit by me. Now, maybe you'll admit that I can dance too."
Chapter 16 of The pit is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading “Now, maybe you'll admit that I can dance too."”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.”
an artistic form of nonverbal communication
From this reading “Now, maybe you'll admit that I can dance too."”
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading “Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.”
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading “Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.”
by chance
From this reading “Now, maybe you'll admit that I can dance too."”
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading “Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.”
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading “Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.”
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.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
From this reading Now, maybe you'll admit that I can dance too."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
(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 "There," she cried, "now I feel better.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Come over here and sit by me.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Now, maybe you'll admit that I can dance too."
(used in the plural) a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading That had to come out.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "There," she cried, "now I feel better.
an artistic form of nonverbal communication
From this reading Now, maybe you'll admit that I can dance too."
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading "There," she cried, "now I feel better.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading That had to come out.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Come over here and sit by me.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "There," she cried, "now I feel better.
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
by chance
From this reading Now, maybe you'll admit that I can dance too."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Come over here and sit by me.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "There," she cried, "now I feel better.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading That had to come out.
above and across; more than
From this reading Come over here and sit by me.
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
be seated
From this reading Come over here and sit by me.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That had to come out.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There," she cried, "now I feel better.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That had to come out.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Now, maybe you'll admit that I can dance too."
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Then suddenly she tossed the castanets far across the room and dropped upon the couch, panting and laughing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now, maybe you'll admit that I can dance too."
Chapter 16 of The pit by Frank Norris holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 413 sentences of The pit, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The pit by Frank Norris exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 pit by Frank Norris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8642 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4382 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4382, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1729 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The pit section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The pit 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 pit, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
