Chapter 1 of A Fleet in Being is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Fleet in Being is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
Chapter 1 of A Fleet in Being is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading “_the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’”
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
plural of “pea” — seed of a pea plant used for food
From this reading “_the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’”
traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading “_the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’”
any member of a ship's crew
From this reading “_the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’”
plural of “sea” — a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
plural of “war” — the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading “_the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’”
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
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.
continue to live and avoid dying
In this reading “_the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’”
In this reading “_the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’”
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 sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
the force of workers available
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
plural of “pea” — seed of a pea plant used for food
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
any member of a ship's crew
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
plural of “sea” — a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
a formal word for “on”
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
plural of “war” — the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading _the sailor men_ _That sail upon the seas_, _To fight the Wars and keep the Laws_, _And live on yellow_ peas’ ‘A Gunroom Ditty-Box.’
Chapter 1 of A Fleet in Being by Rudyard Kipling holds 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 1 holds 180 sentences of A Fleet in Being, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Fleet in Being by Rudyard Kipling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 1 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 Fleet in Being by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1072 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45871 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45871, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 89 minutes of reading across 215 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Fleet in Being section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of A Fleet in Being 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 Fleet in Being, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
