Chapter 17 of Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SENTENCED TO DEATH. Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path. On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads. On the other, was a fall into the valley below. The road at this point was far wider than usual.
Chapter 17 of Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades is here in full — 198 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
-ing form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.”
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading “Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.”
very suddenly and to a great degree
From this reading “On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.”
a safe place
From this reading “Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.”
past form of “sentence” — pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law
From this reading “SENTENCED TO DEATH.”
having a sharp inclination
From this reading “Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.”
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading “On the other, was a fall into the valley below.”
comparative of “wide” — having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “The road at this point was far wider than usual.”
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 Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
-ing form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading On the other, was a fall into the valley below.
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading SENTENCED TO DEATH.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading On the other, was a fall into the valley below.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading The road at this point was far wider than usual.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading On the other, was a fall into the valley below.
and nothing more
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading On the other, was a fall into the valley below.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
a course of conduct
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading The road at this point was far wider than usual.
very suddenly and to a great degree
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
a safe place
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading The road at this point was far wider than usual.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
past form of “sentence” — pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law
From this reading SENTENCED TO DEATH.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
having a sharp inclination
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading The road at this point was far wider than usual.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading On one side the rock rose precipitously, ten feet above their heads.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The road at this point was far wider than usual.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading SENTENCED TO DEATH.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading The road at this point was far wider than usual.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading On the other, was a fall into the valley below.
precisely as stated
From this reading Just before arriving at the refuge, they had passed along a very steep and dangerous path.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading On the other, was a fall into the valley below.
comparative of “wide” — having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading The road at this point was far wider than usual.
Chapter 17 of Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty holds 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 198 sentences of Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 198 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #12308, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 299 minutes of reading across 719 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
