Chapter 4 of Fighting the Sea is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Fighting the Sea is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PATROL. Walter was sitting in the living–room of the station. It was almost eight o’clock. Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room. Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
Chapter 4 of Fighting the Sea is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading “Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.”
on a floor below
From this reading “Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.”
a detachment used for security or reconnaissance
From this reading “THE PATROL.”
an elastic material obtained from the latex sap of trees (especially trees of the genera Hevea and Ficus) that can be vulcanized and finished into a variety of products
From this reading “Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.”
an area that includes places where several people can sit
From this reading “Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.”
ready to fall asleep
From this reading “Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.”
-ing form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading “Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.”
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading “Walter was sitting in the living–room of the station.”
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.
a high boot made of rubber
In this reading “Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.”
In this reading “Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.”
In this reading “Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.”
put clothing on one's body
In this reading “Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.”
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 Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It was almost eight o’clock.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
on a floor below
From this reading Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
being one more than seven
From this reading It was almost eight o’clock.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Walter was sitting in the living–room of the station.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was almost eight o’clock.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading Walter was sitting in the living–room of the station.
the force of workers available
From this reading Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
according to the clock
From this reading It was almost eight o’clock.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Walter was sitting in the living–room of the station.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
a detachment used for security or reconnaissance
From this reading THE PATROL.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Walter was sitting in the living–room of the station.
an elastic material obtained from the latex sap of trees (especially trees of the genera Hevea and Ficus) that can be vulcanized and finished into a variety of products
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
an area that includes places where several people can sit
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Walter was sitting in the living–room of the station.
ready to fall asleep
From this reading Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading Walter was sitting in the living–room of the station.
-ing form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PATROL.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Seating themselves, they began to put on their huge rubber boots.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading Walter was sitting in the living–room of the station.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Walter was sitting in the living–room of the station.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Two men came stumbling downstairs, and with a sleepy air entered the room.
Chapter 4 of Fighting the Sea by Edward A. (Edward Augustus) [Adapter] Rand holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 4 holds 168 sentences of Fighting the Sea, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Fighting the Sea by Edward A. (Edward Augustus) [Adapter] Rand exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 4 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 Fighting the Sea by Edward A. (Edward Augustus) [Adapter] Rand on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4497 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47165 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47165, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 374 minutes of reading across 900 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Fighting the Sea section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Fighting 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 Fighting the Sea, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
