Chapter 15 of 1492 is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of 1492 is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WE were in a throng of islands. We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!” None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador. At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail. We had with us upon the _Santa Maria_ three San Salvador men.
Chapter 15 of 1492 is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
plural of “current” — a flow of electricity through a conductor
From this reading “At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.”
a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
a listing printed in all issues of a newspaper or magazine (usually on the editorial page) that gives the name of the publication and the names of the editorial staff, etc.
From this reading “We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!””
a republic on the Pacific coast of Central America
From this reading “None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador.”
the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
plural of “shoal” — a sandbank in a stretch of water that is visible at low tide
From this reading “At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.”
small or little relative to something else
From this reading “None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador.”
a large gathering of people
From this reading “WE were in a throng of islands.”
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 WE were in a throng of islands.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
lacking funds
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
plural of “current” — a flow of electricity through a conductor
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
let fall to the ground
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We had with us upon the _Santa Maria_ three San Salvador men.
a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs together with yttrium; forms highly magnetic compounds
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading WE were in a throng of islands.
plural of “island” — a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading WE were in a throng of islands.
evidencing the possession of inside information
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador.
a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
From this reading We had with us upon the _Santa Maria_ three San Salvador men.
a listing printed in all issues of a newspaper or magazine (usually on the editorial page) that gives the name of the publication and the names of the editorial staff, etc.
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
the force of workers available
From this reading We had with us upon the _Santa Maria_ three San Salvador men.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
not one, and not any
From this reading None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WE were in a throng of islands.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
a republic on the Pacific coast of Central America
From this reading None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador.
the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
From this reading We had with us upon the _Santa Maria_ three San Salvador men.
plural of “shoal” — a sandbank in a stretch of water that is visible at low tide
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
small or little relative to something else
From this reading None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading None were great islands, many far smaller than San Salvador.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading We had with us upon the _Santa Maria_ three San Salvador men.
a large gathering of people
From this reading WE were in a throng of islands.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading At night we lay to, not knowing currents and shoals; then broke the day and we flung out sail.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading We had with us upon the _Santa Maria_ three San Salvador men.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We had with us upon the _Santa Maria_ three San Salvador men.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading WE were in a throng of islands.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading WE were in a throng of islands.
during the time that
From this reading We might drop all for a little while, then from masthead “Land ho!”
in the company of; together with
From this reading We had with us upon the _Santa Maria_ three San Salvador men.
Chapter 15 of 1492 by Mary Johnston holds 84 sentences, grouped into 17 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 15 holds 84 sentences of 1492, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of 1492 by Mary Johnston exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 84 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 15 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 1492 by Mary Johnston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7464 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1692 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1692, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1493 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through 1492 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of 1492 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 1492, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
