Chapter 1 of Hunting the Skipper is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Hunting the Skipper is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn. CHAPTER ONE. H.M.S. "SEAFOWL." "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
Chapter 1 of Hunting the Skipper is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 youthful male person
From this reading “"Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."”
an enclosure made or wire or metal bars in which birds or animals can be kept
From this reading “"Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER ONE.”
a small third seat in the back of an old-fashioned two-seater
From this reading “"Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."”
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading “Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn.”
the pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals regarded as a sport
From this reading “Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn.”
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
From this reading “"Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."”
a student who fails to attend classes
From this reading “Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
a youthful male person
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn.
an enclosure made or wire or metal bars in which birds or animals can be kept
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
dearly loved
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
a small third seat in the back of an old-fashioned two-seater
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn.
a nonmetallic univalent element that is normally a colorless and odorless highly flammable diatomic gas; the simplest and lightest and most abundant element in the universe
From this reading H.M.S.
the pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals regarded as a sport
From this reading Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn.
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading H.M.S.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
not any; not one
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading H.M.S.
a bird that frequents coastal waters and the open ocean: gulls; pelicans; gannets; cormorants; albatrosses; petrels; etc.
From this reading "SEAFOWL."
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
a student who fails to attend classes
From this reading Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Hunting the Skipper, by George Manville Fenn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Dicky, dear boy, it's my impression that we shall see no blackbird's cage to-day."
Chapter 1 of Hunting the Skipper by George Manville Fenn holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 1 holds 411 sentences of Hunting the Skipper, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Hunting the Skipper by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 1 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 Hunting the Skipper by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9452 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27907 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27907, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1891 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hunting the Skipper section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Hunting the Skipper 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 Hunting the Skipper, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
