Chapter 17 of A sailor boy with Dewey is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of A sailor boy with Dewey is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I MEET COMMODORE DEWEY. “Help!” That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain. I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me. But in a twinkling the scene changed.
Chapter 17 of A sailor boy with Dewey is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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 murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed
From this reading “I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.”
especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole
From this reading “That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.”
ruined by overcooking
From this reading “That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.”
a commissioned naval officer who ranks above a captain and below a rear admiral; the lowest grade of admiral
From this reading “I MEET COMMODORE DEWEY.”
past form of “dangle” — hang freely
From this reading “That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.”
United States librarian who founded the decimal system of classification (1851-1931)
From this reading “I MEET COMMODORE DEWEY.”
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading “I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.”
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading “But in a twinkling the scene changed.”
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 “That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.”
In this reading “That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.”
In this reading “But in a twinkling the scene changed.”
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 But in a twinkling the scene changed.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed
From this reading I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
ruined by overcooking
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading But in a twinkling the scene changed.
any of the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in China; regarded as dialects of a single language (even though they are mutually unintelligible) because they share an ideographic writing system
From this reading I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.
a commissioned naval officer who ranks above a captain and below a rear admiral; the lowest grade of admiral
From this reading I MEET COMMODORE DEWEY.
past form of “dangle” — hang freely
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
United States librarian who founded the decimal system of classification (1851-1931)
From this reading I MEET COMMODORE DEWEY.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.
opinion or judgment
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “Help!”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I MEET COMMODORE DEWEY.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But in a twinkling the scene changed.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.
come together
From this reading I MEET COMMODORE DEWEY.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading But in a twinkling the scene changed.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading But in a twinkling the scene changed.
not known
From this reading I felt that I was about to die--that an unknown Chinese assassin was about to slay me.
communicated in words
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading That was but the single word I uttered as the sharp blade dangled before my eyes and burnt itself on my brain.
Chapter 17 of A sailor boy with Dewey by Edward Stratemeyer holds 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 17 holds 144 sentences of A sailor boy with Dewey, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of A sailor boy with Dewey by Edward Stratemeyer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 17 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 sailor boy with Dewey by Edward Stratemeyer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3488 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #77081 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #77081, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 290 minutes of reading across 698 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A sailor boy with Dewey section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of A sailor boy with Dewey 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 sailor boy with Dewey, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
