Chapter 8 of A Book of American Explorers is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of A Book of American Explorers is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. (A.D. 1583.) Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed. Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
Chapter 8 of A Book of American Explorers is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading “Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.”
cause to be bored
From this reading “Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.”
moving toward the east
From this reading “Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.”
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading “Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.”
a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns
From this reading “SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT.”
at no time hereafter
From this reading “Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.”
past form of “sail” — traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading “Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.”
(of winds) coming from the land
From this reading “Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.”
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 “Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1583.)
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading (A.D.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
cause to be bored
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading (A.D.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
moving toward the east
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns
From this reading SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT.
as cold as ice
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
at no time hereafter
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
past form of “sail” — traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
(of winds) coming from the land
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Alas! the land-wind failed, And ice-cold grew the night; And nevermore, on sea or shore, Should Sir Humphrey see the light.
term of address for a man
From this reading SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Eastward from Campobello Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed: Three days or more seaward he bore, Then, alas! the land-wind failed.
Chapter 8 of A Book of American Explorers by Thomas Wentworth Higginson holds 46 sentences, grouped into 10 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 8 holds 46 sentences of A Book of American Explorers, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of A Book of American Explorers by Thomas Wentworth Higginson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 46 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 8 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 A Book of American Explorers by Thomas Wentworth Higginson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2577 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56346 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56346, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 214 minutes of reading across 516 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Book of American Explorers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of A Book of American Explorers 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 A Book of American Explorers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
