Chapter 10 of The Secret Victory 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 X
Chapter 10 of The Secret Victory is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind. Eric found his body shivering and his fingers stiff. He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light. Was Barbara asleep yet?... Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
Chapter 10 of The Secret Victory 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.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading “Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!”
an orderly arrangement
From this reading “He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.”
coldness due to a cold environment
From this reading “The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.”
the first light of day
From this reading “The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.”
in a slow and lazy manner
From this reading “He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.”
plural of “risk” — a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading “Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!”
a sensation of cold that often marks the start of an infection and the development of a fever
From this reading “Eric found his body shivering and his fingers stiff.”
not moving or operating freely
From this reading “Eric found his body shivering and his fingers stiff.”
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.
anew
In this reading “He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.”
In this reading “The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.”
In this reading “He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.”
get involved in or with
In this reading “He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.”
In this reading “He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.”
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 night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
an orderly arrangement
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
in a state of sleep
From this reading Was Barbara asleep yet?...
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Was Barbara asleep yet?...
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Eric found his body shivering and his fingers stiff.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
coldness due to a cold environment
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
the first light of day
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
take in liquids
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
take in solid food
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Eric found his body shivering and his fingers stiff.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading Eric found his body shivering and his fingers stiff.
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
set up or found
From this reading Eric found his body shivering and his fingers stiff.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
a young female
From this reading Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
of blue tinged with grey
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Eric found his body shivering and his fingers stiff.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
in a slow and lazy manner
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
on one occasion
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
a fence made of upright pickets
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
plural of “risk” — a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
a sensation of cold that often marks the start of an infection and the development of a fever
From this reading Eric found his body shivering and his fingers stiff.
not moving or operating freely
From this reading Eric found his body shivering and his fingers stiff.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He looked lazily at the array of food, too tired to eat or drink; then he got into bed and once more turned out the light.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Apart from everything else, what a fool the girl was to run such risks!
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The night was paling to a grey-blue, and the dawn brought with it a chill wind.
but in spite of that
From this reading Was Barbara asleep yet?...
Chapter 10 of The Secret Victory by Stephen McKenna 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 10 holds 408 sentences of The Secret Victory, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Secret Victory by Stephen McKenna 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 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 Secret Victory by Stephen McKenna on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6055 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48133 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48133, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 504 minutes of reading across 1211 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Victory section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Secret Victory 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 Victory, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
