Chapter 16 of The Vanishing Point is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Vanishing Point is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I'm the thing that's happened. I'm responsible for everything. I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse. It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna. It was I who butchered the women and children at the frontier.
Chapter 16 of The Vanishing Point is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
past form of “butcher” — kill (animals) usually for food consumption
From this reading “It was I who butchered the women and children at the frontier.”
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading “It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.”
a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country
From this reading “It was I who butchered the women and children at the frontier.”
inflected form of “learn” — gain knowledge or skills
From this reading “I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.”
worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable
From this reading “I'm responsible for everything.”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.”
the capital and largest city of Austria; located on the Danube in northeastern Austria; was the home of Beethoven and Brahms and Haydn and Mozart and Schubert and Strauss
From this reading “It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.”
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading “I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.”
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 “I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.”
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.
Having no one else present.
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was I who butchered the women and children at the frontier.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
past form of “butcher” — kill (animals) usually for food consumption
From this reading It was I who butchered the women and children at the frontier.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading It was I who butchered the women and children at the frontier.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading I'm responsible for everything.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I'm responsible for everything.
a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country
From this reading It was I who butchered the women and children at the frontier.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “I'm the thing that's happened.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'm the thing that's happened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.
inflected form of “learn” — gain knowledge or skills
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
engage in
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable
From this reading I'm responsible for everything.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'm the thing that's happened.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I'm the thing that's happened.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
a special situation
From this reading “I'm the thing that's happened.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
hard to endure
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
the capital and largest city of Austria; located on the Danube in northeastern Austria; was the home of Beethoven and Brahms and Haydn and Mozart and Schubert and Strauss
From this reading It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was my hand that shot down the crowd at Vienna.
which person or people
From this reading It was I who butchered the women and children at the frontier.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading It was I who butchered the women and children at the frontier.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading I've never learnt to let bad alone; in trying to make things better, I make them worse.
Chapter 16 of The Vanishing Point by Coningsby Dawson holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 411 sentences of The Vanishing Point, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Vanishing Point by Coningsby Dawson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Vanishing Point by Coningsby Dawson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7376 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50499 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50499, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1476 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Vanishing Point section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Vanishing Point 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 Vanishing Point, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
