Chapter 17 of Through the Desert is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Through the Desert is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?” “I don’t know. Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves. Would you be glad if we could really join his division?” The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
Chapter 17 of Through the Desert is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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 person with fair skin and hair
From this reading “The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.”
succeed in representing or expressing something intangible
From this reading “Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.”
plural of “district” — a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
From this reading “Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.”
an army unit large enough to sustain combat
From this reading “Would you be glad if we could really join his division?””
become part of; become a member of a group or organization
From this reading “Would you be glad if we could really join his division?””
the act of physically reaching or thrusting out
From this reading “Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.”
plural of “slave” — a person who is owned by someone
From this reading “Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.”
the act of going from one place to another
From this reading “Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.”
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 “Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.”
In this reading ““Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?””
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 girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading “Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Would you be glad if we could really join his division?”
a person with fair skin and hair
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
succeed in representing or expressing something intangible
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Would you be glad if we could really join his division?”
plural of “district” — a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
an army unit large enough to sustain combat
From this reading Would you be glad if we could really join his division?”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t know.
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading “Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?”
a young female
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading Would you be glad if we could really join his division?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Would you be glad if we could really join his division?”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I don’t know.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Would you be glad if we could really join his division?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
become part of; become a member of a group or organization
From this reading Would you be glad if we could really join his division?”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “I don’t know.
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
not any; not one
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
with speed
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
the act of physically reaching or thrusting out
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Would you be glad if we could really join his division?”
sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading “Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
plural of “slave” — a person who is owned by someone
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
the act of going from one place to another
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?”
in or at the place that
From this reading Most likely he is traveling rapidly so as to lose no time in reaching the districts where he can capture the most slaves.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?”
disposed or inclined toward
From this reading The girl nodded her little blonde head as a sign that she was most willing.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading “Stasch, why do we always ride without finding Smain?”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Would you be glad if we could really join his division?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Would you be glad if we could really join his division?”
Chapter 17 of Through the Desert by Henryk Sienkiewicz holds 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 17 holds 153 sentences of Through the Desert, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Through the Desert by Henryk Sienkiewicz exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 17 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 Through the Desert by Henryk Sienkiewicz on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6400 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60177 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60177, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 533 minutes of reading across 1280 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Through the Desert section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Through the Desert 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 Through the Desert, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
