Chapter 1 of Battles with the Sea is here in full — 548 sentences across 110 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Battles with the Sea is here in full — 548 sentences across 110 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BATTLES WITH THE SEA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE. CHAPTER ONE. HEROES OF THE LIFEBOAT AND ROCKET. SKIRMISHES WITH THE SUBJECT GENERALLY. It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
Chapter 1 of Battles with the Sea is here in full — 548 sentences across 110 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/109 · 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.
plural of “battle” — a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading “BATTLES WITH THE SEA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER ONE.”
entailing great loss or sacrifice
From this reading “It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.”
plural of “hero” — a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading “HEROES OF THE LIFEBOAT AND ROCKET.”
a strong sea boat designed to rescue people from a sinking ship
From this reading “HEROES OF THE LIFEBOAT AND ROCKET.”
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading “It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.”
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading “HEROES OF THE LIFEBOAT AND ROCKET.”
plural of “skirmish” — a minor short-term fight
From this reading “SKIRMISHES WITH THE SUBJECT GENERALLY.”
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 It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading HEROES OF THE LIFEBOAT AND ROCKET.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BATTLES WITH THE SEA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
plural of “battle” — a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading BATTLES WITH THE SEA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
the people of Great Britain
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BATTLES WITH THE SEA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
entailing great loss or sacrifice
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
usually; as a rule
From this reading SKIRMISHES WITH THE SUBJECT GENERALLY.
plural of “hero” — a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading HEROES OF THE LIFEBOAT AND ROCKET.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
a strong sea boat designed to rescue people from a sinking ship
From this reading HEROES OF THE LIFEBOAT AND ROCKET.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading BATTLES WITH THE SEA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading HEROES OF THE LIFEBOAT AND ROCKET.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading BATTLES WITH THE SEA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading HEROES OF THE LIFEBOAT AND ROCKET.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading BATTLES WITH THE SEA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
plural of “skirmish” — a minor short-term fight
From this reading SKIRMISHES WITH THE SUBJECT GENERALLY.
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading SKIRMISHES WITH THE SUBJECT GENERALLY.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BATTLES WITH THE SEA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
in or at that place or location
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading It ought to be known to all English boys that there is a terrible and costly war in which the British nation is at all times engaged.
in the company of; together with
From this reading BATTLES WITH THE SEA, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
Chapter 1 of Battles with the Sea by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne holds 548 sentences, grouped into 110 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 1 holds 548 sentences of Battles with the Sea, unabridged, divided into 110 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Battles with the Sea by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 548 sentences, grouped into 110 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 110 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 110 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 1 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 Battles with the Sea by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1073 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21717 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21717, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 89 minutes of reading across 215 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Battles with the Sea section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Battles with the Sea 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 Battles with the Sea, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
