Chapter 18 of A sailor boy with Dewey is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of A sailor boy with Dewey is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE FIGHTING ENGINEER. That night I slept but little. Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind. I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard. He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.
Chapter 18 of A sailor boy with Dewey is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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 commissioned naval officer who ranks above a captain and below a rear admiral; the lowest grade of admiral
From this reading “Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.”
seemingly without interruption
From this reading “I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.”
possessive form of “dewey” — United States librarian who founded the decimal system of classification (1851-1931)
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading “THE FIGHTING ENGINEER.”
connected with or belonging to or used in a navy
From this reading “I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.”
a sheath for a sword or dagger or bayonet
From this reading “I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.”
an example regarded as typical of its class
From this reading “He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.”
remove the edges from and cut down to the desired size
From this reading “I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.”
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 “He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.”
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 He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading That night I slept but little.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.
a commissioned naval officer who ranks above a captain and below a rear admiral; the lowest grade of admiral
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
seemingly without interruption
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
possessive form of “dewey” — United States librarian who founded the decimal system of classification (1851-1931)
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading THE FIGHTING ENGINEER.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
the act of fighting; any contest or struggle
From this reading THE FIGHTING ENGINEER.
a man of refinement
From this reading He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading That night I slept but little.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading That night I slept but little.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
connected with or belonging to or used in a navy
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading That night I slept but little.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
a sheath for a sword or dagger or bayonet
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading That night I slept but little.
an example regarded as typical of its class
From this reading He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Strange as it may seem, I could not get Commodore Dewey’s face out of my mind.
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That night I slept but little.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FIGHTING ENGINEER.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
remove the edges from and cut down to the desired size
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
always the same; showing a single form or character in all occurrences
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was certainly a splendid specimen of an American naval gentleman.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I thought of him continually, with his trim naval uniform and well-polished sword and scabbard.
Chapter 18 of A sailor boy with Dewey by Edward Stratemeyer holds 112 sentences, grouped into 23 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 18 holds 112 sentences of A sailor boy with Dewey, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of A sailor boy with Dewey by Edward Stratemeyer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 112 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 18 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.
