Chapter 12 of Fighting the Sea is here in full — 188 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Fighting the Sea is here in full — 188 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON HIS BEAT. Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered. They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes. By each surfman’s plate, was a cup of hot coffee. A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
Chapter 12 of Fighting the Sea is here in full — 188 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
small round bread leavened with baking-powder or soda
From this reading “They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.”
any utterance produced simultaneously by a group
From this reading “A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.”
plural of “dish” — a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading “They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.”
cooked by frying in fat
From this reading “They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.”
someone in charge of other people
From this reading “Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.”
plural of “knight” — originally a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry; today in Great Britain a person honored by the sovereign for personal merit
From this reading “A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.”
plural of “potato” — an edible tuber native to South America; a staple food of Ireland
From this reading “They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.”
filled with steam or emitting moisture in the form of vapor or mist
From this reading “They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.”
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 “They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.”
In this reading “By each surfman’s plate, was a cup of hot coffee.”
move upward
In this reading “A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.”
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 They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading ON HIS BEAT.
small round bread leavened with baking-powder or soda
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By each surfman’s plate, was a cup of hot coffee.
any utterance produced simultaneously by a group
From this reading A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
From this reading By each surfman’s plate, was a cup of hot coffee.
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading By each surfman’s plate, was a cup of hot coffee.
plural of “dish” — a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading By each surfman’s plate, was a cup of hot coffee.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
a social unit living together
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
cooked by frying in fat
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading ON HIS BEAT.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading By each surfman’s plate, was a cup of hot coffee.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
someone in charge of other people
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
plural of “knight” — originally a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry; today in Great Britain a person honored by the sovereign for personal merit
From this reading A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
belonging to the modern era; since the Middle Ages
From this reading A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON HIS BEAT.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading By each surfman’s plate, was a cup of hot coffee.
plural of “potato” — an edible tuber native to South America; a staple food of Ireland
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
filled with steam or emitting moisture in the form of vapor or mist
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By each surfman’s plate, was a cup of hot coffee.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading By each surfman’s plate, was a cup of hot coffee.
accept gladly
From this reading A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading A ready chorus of welcome went up from these modern knights of the sea.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Keeper Barney and his family of surfmen were at breakfast as Walter entered.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading They were seated about a table on which were two huge steaming dishes,—one of biscuit, and the other of fried potatoes.
Chapter 12 of Fighting the Sea by Edward A. (Edward Augustus) [Adapter] Rand holds 188 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.
Chapter 12 holds 188 sentences of Fighting the Sea, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Fighting the Sea by Edward A. (Edward Augustus) [Adapter] Rand exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 188 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.
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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 12 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.
