Chapter 16 of The Secret City is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Secret City is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I felt something of that impotence now. I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way. Poor Nina! Such a baby! What was it that had driven her to this?
Chapter 16 of The Secret City is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier
From this reading “I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.”
compelled forcibly by an outside agency
From this reading “What was it that had driven her to this?”
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading “I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.”
be a hindrance or obstacle to
From this reading “I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.”
the quality of lacking strength or power; being weak and feeble
From this reading “I felt something of that impotence now.”
the Babylonian goddess of the watery deep and daughter of Ea
From this reading “Poor Nina!”
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading “I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.”
in or to any place at all
From this reading “I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.”
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.
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 Such a baby!
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading Such a baby!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
compelled forcibly by an outside agency
From this reading What was it that had driven her to this?
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading I felt something of that impotence now.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading What was it that had driven her to this?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading What was it that had driven her to this?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I felt something of that impotence now.
be a hindrance or obstacle to
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
the quality of lacking strength or power; being weak and feeble
From this reading I felt something of that impotence now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading What was it that had driven her to this?
the Babylonian goddess of the watery deep and daughter of Ea
From this reading Poor Nina!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I felt something of that impotence now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I felt something of that impotence now.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Poor Nina!
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading I felt something of that impotence now.
a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Such a baby!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I felt something of that impotence now.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What was it that had driven her to this?
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What was it that had driven her to this?
in or to any place at all
From this reading I cursed the Isvostchick, but wherever he went this slow endless stream seemed to impede our way.
Chapter 16 of The Secret City by Hugh Walpole holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 408 sentences of The Secret City, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Secret City by Hugh Walpole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Secret City by Hugh Walpole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8967 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12349 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12349, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1794 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret City section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Secret City 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 Secret City, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
