Chapter 16 of The Valley of Content is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Valley of Content is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Hugh!” It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart. But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed. He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before. His face was drawn and haggard.
Chapter 16 of The Valley of Content is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/72 · 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.
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading “He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.”
extreme mental distress
From this reading “But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.”
facing or experiencing financial trouble or difficulty
From this reading “But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.”
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.”
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading “His face was drawn and haggard.”
conduct an interview in television, newspaper, and radio reporting
From this reading “He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.”
a sudden sharp feeling
From this reading “But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.”
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading “It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.”
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 “He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.”
In this reading “He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.”
In this reading “He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.”
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 It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His face was drawn and haggard.
extreme mental distress
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
facing or experiencing financial trouble or difficulty
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading His face was drawn and haggard.
divisible by two
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading His face was drawn and haggard.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading His face was drawn and haggard.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Hugh!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
conduct an interview in television, newspaper, and radio reporting
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
held dear
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
and nothing more
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
From this reading It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
a sudden sharp feeling
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
in or at that place or location
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a cry of pain torn from the mother heart.
exhibiting childlike simplicity and credulity
From this reading But even in her anguish for her children there came a pang for the man she loved as she gazed at him wide-eyed, distressed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
a late time of life
From this reading He seemed to have aged ten years since his interview with her only a few hours before.
Chapter 16 of The Valley of Content by Blanche Upright holds 360 sentences, grouped into 72 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 360 sentences of The Valley of Content, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Valley of Content by Blanche Upright exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 360 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 Valley of Content by Blanche Upright on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6294 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67728 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67728, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 524 minutes of reading across 1259 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Valley of Content section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Valley of Content 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 Valley of Content, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
