Chapter 12 of A Roving Commission is here in full — 386 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of A Roving Commission is here in full — 386 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms. Nat caught up his telescope. "It may be a white boy," he said. "Lower the gig! I will go myself in her.
Chapter 12 of A Roving Commission is here in full — 386 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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.
a mechanical device that prevents a vessel from moving
From this reading “A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.”
a mark to indicate a direction or relation
long and light rowing boat; especially for racing
From this reading “"Lower the gig!”
free from harm or evil
From this reading “A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.”
plural of “sailor” — any member of a ship's crew
From this reading “A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.”
crush together or collapse
From this reading “Nat caught up his telescope.”
the act of signaling by a movement of the hand
From this reading “A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.”
to an extreme or greatly exaggerated degree
From this reading “A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.”
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 “A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.”
trace
In this reading “A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.”
In this reading “A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.”
reach the point where one should be after a delay
In this reading “Nat caught up his telescope.”
In this reading “A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.”
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 A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
a mechanical device that prevents a vessel from moving
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
a mark to indicate a direction or relation
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "It may be a white boy," he said.
a youthful male person
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Nat caught up his telescope.
the shore of a sea or ocean
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
long and light rowing boat; especially for racing
From this reading "Lower the gig!
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I will go myself in her.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It may be a white boy," he said.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I will go myself in her.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I will go myself in her.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It may be a white boy," he said.
move something or somebody to a lower position
From this reading "Lower the gig!
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "It may be a white boy," he said.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I will go myself in her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nat caught up his telescope.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
free from harm or evil
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It may be a white boy," he said.
plural of “sailor” — any member of a ship's crew
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
crush together or collapse
From this reading Nat caught up his telescope.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Nat caught up his telescope.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
the act of signaling by a movement of the hand
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
at the time that
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
a Caucasian
From this reading "It may be a white boy," he said.
which person or people
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
to an extreme or greatly exaggerated degree
From this reading A RESCUE The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had run down and was wildly waving his arms.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I will go myself in her.
Chapter 12 of A Roving Commission by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty holds 386 sentences, grouped into 78 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 12 holds 386 sentences of A Roving Commission, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of A Roving Commission by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 386 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 12 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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Yes. All 6455 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38764 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38764, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 537 minutes of reading across 1291 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in A Roving Commission, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
