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Captain of the Crew
Captain of the Crew

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of Captain of the Crew is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Ralph Henry Barbour • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for Captain of the Crew
Context Illustration Reading 1/37 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.
“Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.
“Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.
And Waters has dropped out, too, you say?
He was at five, wasn’t he?
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Captain of the Crew

Chapter XVII

Chapter 17 of Captain of the Crew is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/37 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.
Line 2
“Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.
Line 3
“Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.
Line 4
And Waters has dropped out, too, you say?
/ənd ˈwɔːtərz hæz drɑːpt aʊt tuː juː seɪ/
Line 5
He was at five, wasn’t he?

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.

coach verb US /koʊtʃ/

teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports

From this reading “IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Dick's noun US /dɪks/

possessive form of “dick” — someone who is a detective

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Kirk noun US /kɜːrk/

a Scottish church

From this reading “IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
obdurate adjective US /ˈɑːbdərət/

stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing

From this reading “IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
refuses noun US /rəˈfjuːzəz/

plural of “refuse” — food that is discarded (as from a kitchen)

From this reading ““Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
squad noun US /skwɑːd/

a smallest army unit

From this reading “IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
studying noun US /ˈstʌdiɪŋ/

reading carefully with intent to remember

From this reading ““Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Taylor noun US /ˈteɪlər/

United States composer and music critic (1885-1966)

From this reading “IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

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.

dropped out verb + adjective counted as “drop out”

give up in the face of defeat of lacking hope; admit defeat

In this reading “And Waters has dropped out, too, you say?”

3,493 times in 426,211 chapters
at five preposition + noun

In this reading “He was at five, wasn’t he?”

6,775 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 58

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 IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
absolutelyadverbUS /ˌæbsəˈluːtli/

completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers

From this reading “Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading He was at five, wasn’t he?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
bestnounUS /best/

the supreme effort one can make

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
BOATnounUS /boʊt/

a small vessel for travel on water

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
CoachverbUS /koʊtʃ/

teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
DicknounUS /dɪk/

someone who is a detective

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Dick'snounUS /dɪks/

possessive form of “dick” — someone who is a detective

From this reading “Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
droppedverbUS /drɑːpt/

inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground

From this reading And Waters has dropped out, too, you say?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
eh

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

From this reading “Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.

Pending verification
facenounUS /feɪs/

the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear

From this reading “Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fivenounUS /faɪv/

the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one

From this reading He was at five, wasn’t he?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
followingadjectiveUS /ˈfɑːloʊɪŋ/

about to be mentioned or specified

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
goneadjectiveUS /ɡɔːn/

destroyed or killed

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading And Waters has dropped out, too, you say?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
Hillton

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

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

Pending verification
himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
illadjectiveUS /ɪl/

affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
INprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
KirknounUS /kɜːrk/

a Scottish church

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
makeverbUS /meɪk/

engage in

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
membersnounUS /ˈmembərz/

plural of “member” — one of the persons who compose a social group (especially individuals who have joined and participate in a group organization)

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
obdurateadjectiveUS /ˈɑːbdərət/

stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
outadjectiveUS /aʊt/

not allowed to continue to bat or run

From this reading And Waters has dropped out, too, you say?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
refusesnounUS /rəˈfjuːzəz/

plural of “refuse” — food that is discarded (as from a kitchen)

From this reading “Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
reportverbUS /riˈpɔːrt/

to give an account or representation of in words

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading “Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
SaturdaynounUS /ˈsætərdi/

the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
sayverbUS /seɪ/

express in words

From this reading And Waters has dropped out, too, you say?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
secondnounUS /ˈsekənd/

1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
sorryadjectiveUS /ˈsɑːri/

feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
squadnounUS /skwɑːd/

a smallest army unit

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
studyingnounUS /ˈstʌdiɪŋ/

reading carefully with intent to remember

From this reading “Taylor absolutely refuses, eh?” said the coach, studying Dick’s face.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
TaylornounUS /ˈteɪlər/

United States composer and music critic (1885-1966)

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
tooadverbUS /tuː/

to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits

From this reading And Waters has dropped out, too, you say?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
twonounUS /tuː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
visitedverbUS /ˈvɪzɪtɪd/

past form of “visit” — go to see a place, as for entertainment

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading He was at five, wasn’t he?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
wasn't

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

From this reading He was at five, wasn’t he?

Pending verification
WatersnounUS /ˈwɔːtərz/

United States actress and singer (1896-1977)

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
WelladverbUS /wel/

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
WhenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading IN THE BOAT When, on the following Saturday, Coach Kirk again visited Hillton, Dick had a sorry report to make: Taylor obdurate; Waters gone; two members of the second squad ill.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
won't

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

From this reading “Well, if he won’t he won’t, and we must do our best without him.

Pending verification
youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading And Waters has dropped out, too, you say?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Chapter 17 of Captain of the Crew by Ralph Henry Barbour holds 189 sentences, grouped into 38 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 17 of Captain of the Crew contain?

Chapter 17 holds 189 sentences of Captain of the Crew, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 17 of Captain of the Crew by Ralph Henry Barbour exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 189 sentences, grouped into 38 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 17 of Captain of the Crew?

Work through the 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 38 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.

Can chapter 17 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Captain of the Crew

Common questions about reading Captain of the Crew by Ralph Henry Barbour on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Captain of the Crew?

Yes. All 4315 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48745 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Captain of the Crew is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #48745, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Captain of the Crew take to read?

About 359 minutes of reading across 863 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Captain of the Crew section by section

How to work through Captain of the Crew section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 28 chapters of Captain of the Crew to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Captain of the Crew

Words and structures a reader meets early in Captain of the Crew, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Hillton
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Captain of the Crew; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Brakeman
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Captain of the Crew; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Winked
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Captain of the Crew; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Solemnly
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Captain of the Crew; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.