Chapter 6 of Full Speed Ahead is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Full Speed Ahead is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Presently a bosun entered. A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic. One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips. The talk died away. "How many men here?" said the bosun abruptly.
Chapter 6 of Full Speed Ahead is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
past form of “assemble” — create by putting components or members together
From this reading “One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.”
relating to or befitting athletics or athletes
From this reading “A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.”
quick and energetic
From this reading “A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.”
the act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order
From this reading “One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.”
-ing form of “form” — create (as an entity)
From this reading “One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.”
the fourth book of the Old Testament; contains a record of the number of Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt
From this reading “One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.”
plural of “sailor” — any member of a ship's crew
From this reading “One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.”
the time of life between 30 and 40
From this reading “A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.”
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.
become less in amount or intensity
In this reading “The talk died away.”
In this reading “"How many men here?" said the bosun abruptly.”
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 Presently a bosun entered.
quickly and without warning
From this reading "How many men here?" said the bosun abruptly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
past form of “assemble” — create by putting components or members together
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
relating to or befitting athletics or athletes
From this reading A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The talk died away.
a petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen
From this reading Presently a bosun entered.
quick and energetic
From this reading A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
the act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading The talk died away.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Presently a bosun entered.
-ing form of “form” — create (as an entity)
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "How many men here?" said the bosun abruptly.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How many men here?" said the bosun abruptly.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading "How many men here?" said the bosun abruptly.
the force of workers available
From this reading "How many men here?" said the bosun abruptly.
the fourth book of the Old Testament; contains a record of the number of Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
in the near future
From this reading Presently a bosun entered.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "How many men here?" said the bosun abruptly.
plural of “sailor” — any member of a ship's crew
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
in or at or to some place
From this reading A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading One could see him counting the assembled sailors as he came, the numbers forming on his soundless lips.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading The talk died away.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.
the time of life between 30 and 40
From this reading A man somewhere in the thirties, brisk and athletic.
Chapter 6 of Full Speed Ahead by Henry Beston holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 6 holds 408 sentences of Full Speed Ahead, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Full Speed Ahead by Henry Beston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 6 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.
