Chapter 28 of 1492 is here in full — 463 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of 1492 is here in full — 463 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE island, we learned, was named Jamaica. The Admiral called it Santiago, but it also rests Jamaica. Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land. Jamaica gave us almost Carib welcome. Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.
Chapter 28 of 1492 is here in full — 463 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/92 · 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 “canoe” — small and light boat; pointed at both ends; propelled with a paddle
From this reading “Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.”
a communist state in the Caribbean on the island of Cuba
From this reading “Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.”
a country on the island of Jamaica; became independent of England in 1962; much poverty; the major industry is tourism
From this reading “THE island, we learned, was named Jamaica.”
inclined or disposed to peace
From this reading “Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.”
plural of “rest” — something left after other parts have been taken away
From this reading “The Admiral called it Santiago, but it also rests Jamaica.”
city in the northern Dominican Republic
From this reading “The Admiral called it Santiago, but it also rests Jamaica.”
superlative of “sharp” — (of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading “Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.”
superlative of “tough” — not given to gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading “Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.”
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.
the supreme commander of a fleet; ranks above a vice admiral and below a fleet admiral
From this reading The Admiral called it Santiago, but it also rests Jamaica.
(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 Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Jamaica gave us almost Carib welcome.
in addition
From this reading The Admiral called it Santiago, but it also rests Jamaica.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The Admiral called it Santiago, but it also rests Jamaica.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading The Admiral called it Santiago, but it also rests Jamaica.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
plural of “canoe” — small and light boat; pointed at both ends; propelled with a paddle
From this reading Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.
a member of an American Indian peoples of northeastern South America and the Lesser Antilles
From this reading Jamaica gave us almost Carib welcome.
a communist state in the Caribbean on the island of Cuba
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
people in general (often used in the plural)
From this reading Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Jamaica gave us almost Carib welcome.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading THE island, we learned, was named Jamaica.
plural of “island” — a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The Admiral called it Santiago, but it also rests Jamaica.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.
a country on the island of Jamaica; became independent of England in 1962; much poverty; the major industry is tourism
From this reading THE island, we learned, was named Jamaica.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
plural of “land” — the land on which real estate is located
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
superlative of “large” — above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading THE island, we learned, was named Jamaica.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
past form of “name” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading THE island, we learned, was named Jamaica.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
inclined or disposed to peace
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
plural of “rest” — something left after other parts have been taken away
From this reading The Admiral called it Santiago, but it also rests Jamaica.
city in the northern Dominican Republic
From this reading The Admiral called it Santiago, but it also rests Jamaica.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
superlative of “sharp” — (of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE island, we learned, was named Jamaica.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
superlative of “tough” — not given to gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading Its folk had the largest canoes, the sharpest, toughest lances.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE island, we learned, was named Jamaica.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading THE island, we learned, was named Jamaica.
accept gladly
From this reading Jamaica gave us almost Carib welcome.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Of all these lands, outside of the low, small islands to which we came first, Cuba seemed to us the peaceable land.
Chapter 28 of 1492 by Mary Johnston holds 463 sentences, grouped into 93 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 28 holds 463 sentences of 1492, unabridged, divided into 93 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of 1492 by Mary Johnston exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 463 sentences, grouped into 93 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 93 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 93 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 28 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.
