Chapter 20 of In the Eastern Seas is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of In the Eastern Seas is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"My dear boy, you are safe! We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed. Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island. "Are they all well?" I asked, looking eagerly towards the vessel.
Chapter 20 of In the Eastern Seas is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.”
the skilled practice of a practical occupation
From this reading “Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.”
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading “I asked, looking eagerly towards the vessel.”
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading “We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.”
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading “Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.”
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading “We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.”
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading “"My dear boy, you are safe!”
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading “I asked, looking eagerly towards the vessel.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "My dear boy, you are safe!
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked, looking eagerly towards the vessel.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
a youthful male person
From this reading "My dear boy, you are safe!
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
the skilled practice of a practical occupation
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
dearly loved
From this reading "My dear boy, you are safe!
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading I asked, looking eagerly towards the vessel.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
the act of determining the properties of something, usually by research or calculation
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I asked, looking eagerly towards the vessel.
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading I asked, looking eagerly towards the vessel.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My dear boy, you are safe!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading "My dear boy, you are safe!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Are they all well?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
in the direction of
From this reading I asked, looking eagerly towards the vessel.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading I asked, looking eagerly towards the vessel.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Are they all well?"
at the time that
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Great was my astonishment to find that the boat was my own craft which had brought me to the island.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "My dear boy, you are safe!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading We had given up almost all hope of finding you, when we picked up your boat!" he exclaimed.
Chapter 20 of In the Eastern Seas by William Henry Giles Kingston holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 20 holds 400 sentences of In the Eastern Seas, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of In the Eastern Seas by William Henry Giles Kingston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 20 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 In the Eastern Seas by William Henry Giles Kingston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8374 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21387 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21387, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1675 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In the Eastern Seas section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of In the Eastern Seas 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 In the Eastern Seas, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
