Chapter 17 of Porto Bello gold is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Porto Bello gold is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage. Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark. She floated nearer. Nearer still. And nearer.
Chapter 17 of Porto Bello gold is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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 amount of wood in an area as measured in cords
From this reading “THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.”
make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading “THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.”
made of or resembling lace
From this reading “Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.”
a rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders)
From this reading “THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.”
gear consisting of ropes etc. supporting a ship's masts and sails
From this reading “Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.”
the act of taking something from someone unlawfully
From this reading “Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.”
of imposing height; especially standing out above others
From this reading “Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.”
either of two large northern marine mammals having ivory tusks and tough hide over thick blubber
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.
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 THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
the amount of wood in an area as measured in cords
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading She floated nearer.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
made of or resembling lace
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
having or showing great strength or force or intensity
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading She floated nearer.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
a rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders)
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
gear consisting of ropes etc. supporting a ship's masts and sails
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She floated nearer.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
the act of taking something from someone unlawfully
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
not in physical motion
From this reading Nearer still.
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
of imposing height; especially standing out above others
From this reading Then an impression of a mighty shadow, a towering spiderweb of spars and lacy rigging, stealing ghost-like from the enshrouding dark.
not clearly expressed or understood
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
either of two large northern marine mammals having ivory tusks and tough hide over thick blubber
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading THE STORM We heard the _Walrus_ before we had sight of her--the slatting of a head-sail, a rattling block, a vague creak of cordage.
Chapter 17 of Porto Bello gold by Arthur D. Howden (Arthur Douglas Howden) Smith holds 436 sentences, grouped into 88 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 17 holds 436 sentences of Porto Bello gold, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Porto Bello gold by Arthur D. Howden (Arthur Douglas Howden) Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 436 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 17 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 Porto Bello gold by Arthur D. Howden (Arthur Douglas Howden) Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Porto Bello gold section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Porto Bello gold 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 Porto Bello gold, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
