Among the River Pirates

Chapter XIII · Lights

Chapter XIII of Among the River Pirates, “Lights,” is here in full — 31 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Percy Keese Fitzhugh • Curated US English Learning Edition

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English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

The constant boom of the sea gradually wore away some of Skippy’s calm and he raised his head from time to time to gaze apprehensively at the dark sea rising all about him in mountainous waves.

The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

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Chapter XIII Reading 1/6

Among the River Pirates Percy Keese Fitzhugh

Chapter XIII

Lights

Chapter XIII of Among the River Pirates, “Lights,” is here in full — 31 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued. The constant boom of the sea gradually wore away some of Skippy’s calm and he raised his head from time to time to gaze apprehensively at the dark sea rising all about him in mountainous waves. The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle. Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port. He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

Among the River Pirates

Chapter XIII · Lights

Chapter XIII of Among the River Pirates, “Lights,” is here in full — 31 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/6 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

/ðə ˈθʌndər ənd ˈlaɪtnɪŋ daɪd əˈweɪ ˈæftər ə taɪm bʌt ðə reɪn kənˈtɪnjuːd/

Line 2

The constant boom of the sea gradually wore away some of Skippy’s calm and he raised his head from time to time to gaze apprehensively at the dark sea rising all about him in mountainous waves.

Line 3

The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

Line 4

Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

/wʌns hiː mjuːzd əˈbaʊt wʌt ˌprɑːbəˈbɪlətiː ðer wɑːz ʌv hɪz ˈbiːɪŋ ˈkærid klɪr əˈkrɔːs ðə siː tuː sʌm ˌjʊrəˈpiːən pɔːrt/

Line 5

He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

/hiː hæd hɜːrd ʌv men ˈbiːɪŋ ˈeɪbəl tuː laɪv wɪˈθaʊt fuːd ɔːr ˈwɔːtər frʌm ten tuː ˈfɔːrˈtiːn deɪz/

Learner Dictionary

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.

boom verb US /buːm/

make a resonant sound, like artillery

From this reading “The constant boom of the sea gradually wore away some of Skippy’s calm and he raised his head from time to time to gaze apprehensively at the dark sea rising all about him in mountainous waves.”

European noun US /ˌjʊrəˈpiːən/

a native or inhabitant of Europe

From this reading “Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.”

fourteen noun US /ˈfɔːrˈtiːn/

the cardinal number that is the sum of thirteen and one

From this reading “He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.”

mountainous adjective US /ˈmaʊntənəs/

having hills and crags

mused verb US /mjuːzd/

past form of “muse” — reflect deeply on a subject

From this reading “Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.”

probability noun US /ˌprɑːbəˈbɪlətiː/

a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur; a number expressing the ratio of favorable cases to the whole number of cases possible

From this reading “Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.”

turtle noun US /ˈtɜːrtəl/

a sweater or jersey with a high close-fitting collar

From this reading “The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.”

void adjective US /vɔɪd/

lacking any legal or binding force

From this reading “The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

fourteen days noun + noun

In this reading “He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.”

died away verb + particle counted as “die away”

become less in amount or intensity

In this reading “The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.”

across the sea preposition + article + noun counted as “across … sea”

In this reading “Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.”

tossed about verb + particle counted as “toss about”

In this reading “The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.”

without food preposition + noun

In this reading “He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.”

at times preposition + noun

sporadically and infrequently

In this reading “The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.”

live without verb + particle

In this reading “He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.”

wore away verb + particle counted as “wear away”

cut away in small pieces

In this reading “The constant boom of the sea gradually wore away some of Skippy’s calm and he raised his head from time to time to gaze apprehensively at the dark sea rising all about him in mountainous waves.”

All words in this reading · 76

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

ableadjectiveUS /ˈeɪbəl/

(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading The constant boom of the sea gradually wore away some of Skippy’s calm and he raised his head from time to time to gaze apprehensively at the dark sea rising all about him in mountainous waves.

acrossprepositionUS /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

apprehensivelyadverb

with anxiety or apprehension

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

awayadverbUS /əˈweɪ/

from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

blackadjectiveUS /blæk/

being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

boatnounUS /boʊt/

a small vessel for travel on water

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

boomverbUS /buːm/

make a resonant sound, like artillery

breath-taking

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

calmverbUS /kɑːm/

make calm or still

carriedverbUS /ˈkærid/

inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

clearverbUS /klɪr/

rid of obstructions

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

constantadjectiveUS /ˈkɑːnstənt/

unvarying in nature

continuedadjectiveUS /kənˈtɪnjuːd/

without stop or interruption

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

darknounUS /dɑːrk/

absence of light or illumination

daysnounUS /deɪz/

the time during which someone's life continues

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

diedverbUS /daɪd/

past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

EuropeannounUS /ˌjʊrəˈpiːən/

a native or inhabitant of Europe

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

foodnounUS /fuːd/

any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

fourteennounUS /ˈfɔːrˈtiːn/

the cardinal number that is the sum of thirteen and one

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

gazenounUS /ɡeɪz/

a long fixed look

graduallyadverbUS /ˈɡrædʒuːəli/

in a gradual manner

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

headnounUS /hed/

the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains

heardadjectiveUS /hɜːrd/

detected or perceived by the sense of hearing

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

lightningnounUS /ˈlaɪtnɪŋ/

abrupt electric discharge from cloud to cloud or from cloud to earth accompanied by the emission of light

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

liveverbUS /laɪv/

be an inhabitant of or reside in

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

mennounUS /men/

the force of workers available

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

mountainousadjectiveUS /ˈmaʊntənəs/

having hills and crags

musedverbUS /mjuːzd/

past form of “muse” — reflect deeply on a subject

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

OnceadverbUS /wʌns/

on one occasion

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

portnounUS /pɔːrt/

a place (seaport or airport) where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

probabilitynounUS /ˌprɑːbəˈbɪlətiː/

a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur; a number expressing the ratio of favorable cases to the whole number of cases possible

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

rainnounUS /reɪn/

water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

raisedadjectiveUS /reɪzd/

located or moved above the surround or above the normal position

risingadjectiveUS /ˈraɪzɪŋ/

advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status

seanounUS /siː/

a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land

seemedverbUS /siːmd/

past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

sensationnounUS /senˈseɪʃən/

an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

Skippy's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

skynounUS /skaɪ/

the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

tennounUS /ten/

the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

thunderverbUS /ˈθʌndər/

move fast, noisily, and heavily

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

timenounUS /taɪm/

an instance or single occasion for some event

From this reading The thunder and lightning died away after a time but the rain continued.

timesnounUS /taɪmz/

a more or less definite period of time now or previously present

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

tossedverbUS /tɔːst/

past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

turnedadjectiveUS /tɜːrnd/

moved around an axis or center

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

turtlenounUS /ˈtɜːrtəl/

a sweater or jersey with a high close-fitting collar

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

voidadjectiveUS /vɔɪd/

lacking any legal or binding force

From this reading The sky seemed a black void and at times as the little boat tossed about in the waves, he had the breath-taking sensation that he had turned turtle.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

waternounUS /ˈwɔːtər/

binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

wavesnounUS /weɪvz/

plural of “wave” — one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading Once, he mused about what probability there was of his being carried clear across the sea to some European port.

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading He had heard of men being able to live without food or water from ten to fourteen days.

woreverbUS /wɔːr/

inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in

Chapter 13 of Among the River Pirates by Percy Keese Fitzhugh holds 31 sentences, grouped into 7 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.

What does chapter 13 of Among the River Pirates contain?

Chapter 13 holds 31 sentences of Among the River Pirates, unabridged, divided into 7 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 13 of Among the River Pirates by Percy Keese Fitzhugh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 31 sentences, grouped into 7 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.

How do I study chapter 13 of Among the River Pirates?

Work through the 7 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 7 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.

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Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 13 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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Project Gutenberg eBook #53695, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 218 minutes of reading across 524 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Chapter XIII · Lights

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