Chapter 16 of The river is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The river is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside. Hardin frowned across the table at his wife. “You’re surely not going such a night as this?” Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs. No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
Chapter 16 of The river is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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 motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading “THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.”
possessive form of “company” — an institution created to conduct business
a creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings
From this reading “THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.”
difficult to describe
From this reading “Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs.”
past form of “frown” — look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “Hardin frowned across the table at his wife.”
plural of “mood” — a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading “No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.”
plural of “shrug” — a gesture involving the shoulders
From this reading “Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs.”
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading “THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.”
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 “Hardin frowned across the table at his wife.”
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 THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Hardin frowned across the table at his wife.
react verbally
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “You’re surely not going such a night as this?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Hardin frowned across the table at his wife.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
possessive form of “company” — an institution created to conduct business
From this reading THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.
a creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings
From this reading THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.
difficult to describe
From this reading Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs.
past form of “frown” — look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading Hardin frowned across the table at his wife.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs.
the act of departing
From this reading “You’re surely not going such a night as this?”
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hardin frowned across the table at his wife.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Hardin frowned across the table at his wife.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs.
plural of “mood” — a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “You’re surely not going such a night as this?”
not any; not one
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “You’re surely not going such a night as this?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.
plural of “shrug” — a gesture involving the shoulders
From this reading Gerty gave one of her light, elusive shrugs.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “You’re surely not going such a night as this?”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “You’re surely not going such a night as this?”
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Hardin frowned across the table at his wife.
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DRAGON TAKES A HAND THE company’s automobile honked outside.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “You’re surely not going such a night as this?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
male cat
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
at the time that
From this reading No need to answer Tom when he was in one of his black moods.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Hardin frowned across the table at his wife.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You’re surely not going such a night as this?”
Chapter 16 of The river by Ednah Aiken holds 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 272 sentences of The river, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The river by Ednah Aiken exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 river by Ednah Aiken 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 river section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The river 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 river, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
