Chapter 2 of Full Speed Ahead is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Full Speed Ahead is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"What's the programme, now?" "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him. After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn." "What depth are we now?" "Only fifty-five feet."
Chapter 2 of Full Speed Ahead is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading “"We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.”
the extent downward or backward or inward
From this reading “"What depth are we now?"”
not based on fact; existing only in the imagination
From this reading “"We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.”
an optical instrument that provides a view of an otherwise obstructed field
From this reading “"We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.”
select carefully from a group
From this reading “"We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.”
an announcement of the events that will occur as part of a theatrical or sporting event
From this reading “"What's the programme, now?"”
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading “After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."”
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
From this reading “"We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at 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.
take and lift upward
In this reading “"We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.”
In this reading “After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."”
place so as to be noticed
In this reading “"We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at 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 "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
later than; following
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
a native or inhabitant of Great Britain
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
the extent downward or backward or inward
From this reading "What depth are we now?"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading "Only fifty-five feet."
being five more than fifty
From this reading "Only fifty-five feet."
start firing a weapon
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
the act of departing
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
not based on fact; existing only in the imagination
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "What's the programme, now?"
and nothing more
From this reading "Only fifty-five feet."
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
an optical instrument that provides a view of an otherwise obstructed field
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
select carefully from a group
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
an announcement of the events that will occur as part of a theatrical or sporting event
From this reading "What's the programme, now?"
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "What's the programme, now?"
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We are going down the bay a bit, put up our periscope, pick up the Britisher, and fire an imaginary tin fish at him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After each shot, we come to the surface for an instant to let him know we've had our turn."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What depth are we now?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What's the programme, now?"
Chapter 2 of Full Speed Ahead by Henry Beston holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 2 holds 416 sentences of Full Speed Ahead, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Full Speed Ahead by Henry Beston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 2 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 Full Speed Ahead by Henry Beston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2442 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60196 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60196, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 203 minutes of reading across 489 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Full Speed Ahead section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Full Speed Ahead 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 Full Speed Ahead, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
