Chapter 24 of All Adrift is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of All Adrift is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THROUGH VARIED STRIFE AND STRUGGLES. Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age. He was dressed in the uniform of his yacht. He was a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout. A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
Chapter 24 of All Adrift is here in full — 118 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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 .45-caliber pistol
From this reading “Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.”
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading “He was a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout.”
any commodity of intermediate quality or size (especially when coarse particles of ground wheat are mixed with bran)
From this reading “He was a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout.”
having or showing or requiring special skill
From this reading “A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.”
lack of agreement or harmony
From this reading “THROUGH VARIED STRIFE AND STRUGGLES.”
plural of “struggle” — an energetic attempt to achieve something
From this reading “THROUGH VARIED STRIFE AND STRUGGLES.”
characterized by variety
From this reading “THROUGH VARIED STRIFE AND STRUGGLES.”
an expensive vessel propelled by sail or power and used for cruising or racing
From this reading “He was dressed in the uniform of his yacht.”
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 a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout.
how long something has existed
From this reading Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THROUGH VARIED STRIFE AND STRUGGLES.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
marked by assurance; exhibiting confidence
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.
an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading He was dressed in the uniform of his yacht.
plural of “expression” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
a .45-caliber pistol
From this reading Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading He was a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was dressed in the uniform of his yacht.
the vertical dimension of extension; distance from the base of something to the top
From this reading He was a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was dressed in the uniform of his yacht.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was dressed in the uniform of his yacht.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He was a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout.
any commodity of intermediate quality or size (especially when coarse particles of ground wheat are mixed with bran)
From this reading He was a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
above and across; more than
From this reading Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.
a human being
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
on the contrary
From this reading He was a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout.
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
of or relating to or indicative of or issued or performed by a king or queen or other monarch
From this reading Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
having or showing or requiring special skill
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
dependable
From this reading He was a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout.
lack of agreement or harmony
From this reading THROUGH VARIED STRIFE AND STRUGGLES.
plural of “struggle” — an energetic attempt to achieve something
From this reading THROUGH VARIED STRIFE AND STRUGGLES.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was dressed in the uniform of his yacht.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading THROUGH VARIED STRIFE AND STRUGGLES.
always the same; showing a single form or character in all occurrences
From this reading He was dressed in the uniform of his yacht.
characterized by variety
From this reading THROUGH VARIED STRIFE AND STRUGGLES.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.
an expensive vessel propelled by sail or power and used for cruising or racing
From this reading He was dressed in the uniform of his yacht.
a late time of life
From this reading Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age.
Chapter 24 of All Adrift by Oliver Optic holds 118 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 holds 118 sentences of All Adrift, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of All Adrift by Oliver Optic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 118 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 24 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 All Adrift by Oliver Optic on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3924 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25577 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25577, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 327 minutes of reading across 785 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through All Adrift section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of All Adrift 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 All Adrift, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
