Chapter 17 of An Ocean Tragedy is here in full — 221 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of An Ocean Tragedy is here in full — 221 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WE RAISE THE SCHOONER. I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked. ‘Who’s there?’ ‘I, Charles. I have news for you.’
Chapter 17 of An Ocean Tragedy is here in full — 221 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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 job in an organization
From this reading “I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.”
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading “I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.”
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading “‘I, Charles.”
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.”
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading “I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.”
information about recent and important events
From this reading “I have news for you.’”
raise the level or amount of something
From this reading “WE RAISE THE SCHOONER.”
a large beer glass
From this reading “WE RAISE THE SCHOONER.”
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 “I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.”
In this reading “I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
a job in an organization
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading ‘I, Charles.
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I have news for you.’
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have news for you.’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
information about recent and important events
From this reading I have news for you.’
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
raise the level or amount of something
From this reading WE RAISE THE SCHOONER.
a large beer glass
From this reading WE RAISE THE SCHOONER.
successive (without a break)
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WE RAISE THE SCHOONER.
in or at that place or location
From this reading ‘Who’s there?’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading WE RAISE THE SCHOONER.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Who’s there?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I descended into the cabin, walked straight to the door of Wilfrid’s berth and knocked.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I have news for you.’
Chapter 17 of An Ocean Tragedy by William Clark Russell holds 221 sentences, grouped into 45 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 221 sentences of An Ocean Tragedy, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of An Ocean Tragedy by William Clark Russell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 221 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 An Ocean Tragedy by William Clark Russell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8412 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56363 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56363, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1683 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through An Ocean Tragedy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of An Ocean Tragedy 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 An Ocean Tragedy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
