Chapter V of Forbidden Cargoes, “Tottering Walls,” is here in full — 74 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter V of Forbidden Cargoes, “Tottering Walls,” is here in full — 74 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him. “Ship’s pitching something terrible,” he told himself. “Must be a hurricane.” “Ship?” something within him seemed to whisper. “Ship?
Chapter V of Forbidden Cargoes, “Tottering Walls,” is here in full — 74 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
a sudden uncontrollable attack
From this reading “It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.”
a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)
From this reading ““Must be a hurricane.””
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading “It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.”
(baseball) playing the position of pitcher on a baseball team
From this reading ““Ship’s pitching something terrible,” he told himself.”
in an impolite manner
From this reading “It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.”
disturbed psychologically as if by a physical jolt or shock
From this reading “It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.”
possessive form of “ship” — a vessel that carries passengers or freight
in a vague way
From this reading “It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.”
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 “It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.”
In this reading “It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.”
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 was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Must be a hurricane.”
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
a sudden uncontrollable attack
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
set up or found
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Ship’s pitching something terrible,” he told himself.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)
From this reading “Must be a hurricane.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “Must be a hurricane.”
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
(baseball) playing the position of pitcher on a baseball team
From this reading “Ship’s pitching something terrible,” he told himself.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
in an impolite manner
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
Identical; not different.
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “Ship?” something within him seemed to whisper.
disturbed psychologically as if by a physical jolt or shock
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
transport commercially
From this reading “Ship?” something within him seemed to whisper.
possessive form of “ship” — a vessel that carries passengers or freight
From this reading “Ship’s pitching something terrible,” he told himself.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading “Ship’s pitching something terrible,” he told himself.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading “Ship’s pitching something terrible,” he told himself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Ship?” something within him seemed to whisper.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “Ship’s pitching something terrible,” he told himself.
in a vague way
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was at an early hour of that same night that Johnny, having wakened from some vaguely remembered dream, found himself rudely shaken by a strange convulsion beneath and about him.
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “Ship?” something within him seemed to whisper.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading “Ship?” something within him seemed to whisper.
Chapter 5 of Forbidden Cargoes by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell holds 74 sentences, grouped into 15 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 5 holds 74 sentences of Forbidden Cargoes, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Forbidden Cargoes by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 74 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 5 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 Forbidden Cargoes by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3831 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42728 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42728, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 319 minutes of reading across 767 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Forbidden Cargoes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Forbidden Cargoes 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 Forbidden Cargoes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
