Chapter 6 of H.M.S. ---- is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of H.M.S. ---- is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Come in!" he barked. "Who is it?" He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes. "Eh--Rainer, how are you, my boy? I was expecting the despatch officer."
Chapter 6 of H.M.S. ---- is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
relating to or befitting athletics or athletes
From this reading “He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.”
past form of “bark” — speak in an unfriendly tone
From this reading “"Come in!" he barked.”
to come or go into
From this reading “He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.”
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading “I was expecting the despatch officer."”
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading “He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.”
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading “He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.”
a commissioned military officer
From this reading “He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.”
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading “He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.”
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 “He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.”
In this reading “He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.”
seek information from
In this reading “He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.”
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 He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Eh--Rainer, how are you, my boy?
relating to or befitting athletics or athletes
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
past form of “bark” — speak in an unfriendly tone
From this reading "Come in!" he barked.
a youthful male person
From this reading "Eh--Rainer, how are you, my boy?
having broad shoulders
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
closely shaved recently
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come in!" he barked.
send away towards a designated goal
From this reading I was expecting the despatch officer."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Eh--Rainer, how are you, my boy?
to come or go into
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading I was expecting the despatch officer."
opinion or judgment
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Come in!" he barked.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Eh--Rainer, how are you, my boy?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I was expecting the despatch officer."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Come in!" he barked.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Who is it?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Who is it?"
talk socially without exchanging too much information
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
a commissioned military officer
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Eh--Rainer, how are you, my boy?
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading I was expecting the despatch officer."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Eh--Rainer, how are you, my boy?
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I was expecting the despatch officer."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was expecting the despatch officer."
which person or people
From this reading "Who is it?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading He looked up to see a tall clean-shaven lieutenant enter--a broad-shouldered athletic figure with a heavy jaw and twinkling grey eyes.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Eh--Rainer, how are you, my boy?
Chapter 6 of H.M.S. ---- by John Graham Bower holds 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 430 sentences of H.M.S. ----, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of H.M.S. ---- by John Graham Bower exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 H.M.S. ---- by John Graham Bower on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2966 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34190 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34190, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 247 minutes of reading across 594 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through H.M.S. ---- section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of H.M.S. ---- 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 H.M.S. ----, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
