Chapter 16 of The Red Planet is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Red Planet is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking. She held a telegram. I had seen faces like that before. Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken. I feared the worst.
Chapter 16 of The Red Planet is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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 communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world
From this reading “Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.”
according with custom or propriety
From this reading “Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.”
a city in southeastern Germany on the Elbe River; it was almost totally destroyed by British air raids in 1945
From this reading “Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.”
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading “I feared the worst.”
plural of “hundred” — ten 10s
From this reading “Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.”
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading “Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.”
grievously affected especially by disease
From this reading “Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.”
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “She held a telegram.”
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 She held a telegram.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading I had seen faces like that before.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
according with custom or propriety
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.
a city in southeastern Germany on the Elbe River; it was almost totally destroyed by British air raids in 1945
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading I had seen faces like that before.
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading I feared the worst.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had seen faces like that before.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading She held a telegram.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
plural of “hundred” — ten 10s
From this reading Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I had seen faces like that before.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I had seen faces like that before.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I had seen faces like that before.
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She held a telegram.
inflected form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
grievously affected especially by disease
From this reading Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading She held a telegram.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I had seen faces like that before.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I feared the worst.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading Every day in England there are hundreds thus stricken.
precisely as stated
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
a Caucasian
From this reading Mrs. Boyce was shown into my study, her comely Dresden china face very white and her hands shaking.
the least favorable outcome
From this reading I feared the worst.
Chapter 16 of The Red Planet by William John Locke holds 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 393 sentences of The Red Planet, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Red Planet by William John Locke exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Red Planet by William John Locke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7299 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4287 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4287, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1460 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Red Planet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Red Planet 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 Red Planet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
