Chapter 14 of Battlewrack is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of Battlewrack is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Hathaway's!" she brought out. "Closing down!" The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune. The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap. "Don't you hear, mother?" said the young woman irritably.
Chapter 14 of Battlewrack is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading “The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.”
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading “The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.”
freed from illusion
From this reading “The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.”
possessive form of “hathaway” — wife of William Shakespeare (1556-1623)
From this reading “"Hathaway's!" she brought out.”
expressed without speech
From this reading “The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.”
acceptance of despair
From this reading “The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.”
in a tense manner
From this reading “The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.”
past form of “twine” — spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading “The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.”
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.
an auspicious state resulting from favorable outcomes
In this reading “The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.”
a young female
In this reading “"Don't you hear, mother?" said the young woman irritably.”
temporarily
In this reading “The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.”
make visible
In this reading “"Hathaway's!" she brought out.”
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 The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading "Hathaway's!" she brought out.
the act of closing something
From this reading "Closing down!"
freed from illusion
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't you hear, mother?" said the young woman irritably.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "Closing down!"
a person who is older than you are
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
possessive form of “hathaway” — wife of William Shakespeare (1556-1623)
From this reading "Hathaway's!" she brought out.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "Don't you hear, mother?" said the young woman irritably.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
in a petulant manner
From this reading "Don't you hear, mother?" said the young woman irritably.
lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
a particular point in time
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "Don't you hear, mother?" said the young woman irritably.
expressed without speech
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Hathaway's!" she brought out.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
acceptance of despair
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Don't you hear, mother?" said the young woman irritably.
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Hathaway's!" she brought out.
without speaking
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
in a tense manner
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
past form of “twine” — spin, wind, or twist together
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
not well-proportioned and pleasing in shape
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The fingers of her unshapely hands twined and untwined themselves tensely in her lap.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The elder stared speechlessly for a moment, then seated herself with that blank mute resignation of the aged poor, long disillusioned of any title to good fortune.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading "Don't you hear, mother?" said the young woman irritably.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Don't you hear, mother?" said the young woman irritably.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading "Don't you hear, mother?" said the young woman irritably.
Chapter 14 of Battlewrack by F. Britten (Frederick Britten) Austin holds 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 14 holds 397 sentences of Battlewrack, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of Battlewrack by F. Britten (Frederick Britten) Austin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 14 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 Battlewrack by F. Britten (Frederick Britten) Austin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5661 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60530 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60530, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 471 minutes of reading across 1133 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Battlewrack section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Battlewrack 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 Battlewrack, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
