Chapter 3 of Many cargoes 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 III
Chapter 3 of Many cargoes is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Too much dry food,” repeated Sam firmly. “A parrot—a grey parrot—wants plenty o’ sop. If it don’t get it, it moults.” “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.” “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
Chapter 3 of Many cargoes 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.
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading ““I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.””
in a physically fierce manner
From this reading ““It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.””
with resolute determination
From this reading ““Too much dry food,” repeated Sam firmly.”
to extremes
From this reading ““It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.””
usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds
From this reading ““A parrot—a grey parrot—wants plenty o’ sop.”
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading ““Too much dry food,” repeated Sam firmly.”
a student who fails to attend classes
From this reading ““It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.””
give a conciliatory gift or bribe to
From this reading ““A parrot—a grey parrot—wants plenty o’ sop.”
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 “A parrot—a grey parrot—wants plenty o’ sop.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If it don’t get it, it moults.”
free from liquid or moisture; lacking natural or normal moisture or depleted of water; or no longer wet
From this reading “Too much dry food,” repeated Sam firmly.
in a physically fierce manner
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
with resolute determination
From this reading “Too much dry food,” repeated Sam firmly.
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading “Too much dry food,” repeated Sam firmly.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading If it don’t get it, it moults.”
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading “A parrot—a grey parrot—wants plenty o’ sop.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If it don’t get it, it moults.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading If it don’t get it, it moults.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If it don’t get it, it moults.”
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “Too much dry food,” repeated Sam firmly.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading “A parrot—a grey parrot—wants plenty o’ sop.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
to extremes
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds
From this reading “A parrot—a grey parrot—wants plenty o’ sop.
a full supply
From this reading “A parrot—a grey parrot—wants plenty o’ sop.
recurring again and again
From this reading “Too much dry food,” repeated Sam firmly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “Too much dry food,” repeated Sam firmly.
term of address for a man
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
a student who fails to attend classes
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
give a conciliatory gift or bribe to
From this reading “A parrot—a grey parrot—wants plenty o’ sop.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
a special situation
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading “Too much dry food,” repeated Sam firmly.
plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty
From this reading “A parrot—a grey parrot—wants plenty o’ sop.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “I don’t believe it was the cat, sir,” interposed the other man; “it’s too soft-hearted to do a thing like that.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “It’s had too much _cat_,” said the skipper fiercely, “and you know it, and overboard it goes.”
Chapter 3 of Many cargoes by W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs holds 430 sentences, grouped into 86 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 3 holds 430 sentences of Many cargoes, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Many cargoes by W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs exactly as it stands in the public-domain 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 3 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 Many cargoes by W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4321 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5758 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5758, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 360 minutes of reading across 865 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Many cargoes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Many cargoes 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 Many cargoes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
