Chapter 15 of Old Jack is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Old Jack is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us. "Ice! ice ahead!" was again the cry. We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it. We could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us. Every tack we made was shorter and shorter.
Chapter 15 of Old Jack is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
at or in the front
From this reading “On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.”
the act of closing something
From this reading “We could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us.”
close interaction
From this reading “We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.”
absence of light or illumination
From this reading “On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.”
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading “"Ice! ice ahead!" was again the cry.”
comparative of “short” — primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading “Every tack we made was shorter and shorter.”
fasten with tacks
From this reading “Every tack we made was shorter and shorter.”
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading “We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.”
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 On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.
anew
From this reading "Ice! ice ahead!" was again the cry.
at or in the front
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
(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 could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Every tack we made was shorter and shorter.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading We could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.
the act of closing something
From this reading We could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us.
close interaction
From this reading We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading We could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Ice! ice ahead!" was again the cry.
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every tack we made was shorter and shorter.
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading "Ice! ice ahead!" was again the cry.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.
and nothing more
From this reading We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Every tack we made was shorter and shorter.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading We could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading We could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
comparative of “short” — primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading Every tack we made was shorter and shorter.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
fasten with tacks
From this reading Every tack we made was shorter and shorter.
express in words
From this reading We could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading We could not tell all the time whether the ice-fields might not be closing on us.
in the company of; together with
From this reading On we stood into the darkness, with a knowledge that danger was ahead of us.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading We wore about, but just in time to escape contact with it.
Chapter 15 of Old Jack by William Henry Giles Kingston holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 15 holds 424 sentences of Old Jack, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Old Jack by William Henry Giles Kingston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 15 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 Old Jack by William Henry Giles Kingston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7142 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23049 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23049, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 595 minutes of reading across 1429 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Jack section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Old Jack 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 Old Jack, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
