Chapter 1 of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. is here in full — 307 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. is here in full — 307 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece. At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door. "Go!" she breathed. "No, stop!" She stood trying in vain to make up her mind.
Chapter 1 of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. is here in full — 307 sentences across 62 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 16/61 · 5 reading units · Lines 76–80
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.
British admiral; was captain of the H.M.S. Bounty in 1789 when part of the crew mutinied and set him afloat in an open boat; a few weeks later he arrived safely in Timor 4,000 miles away (1754-1817)
From this reading “Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.”
uttered without voice
From this reading “"Go!" she breathed.”
rectangular paving stone with curved top; once used to make roads
From this reading “At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.”
having momentous consequences; of decisive importance
From this reading “Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.”
the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading “At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.”
having notes of fixed rhythmic value
From this reading “At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.”
full of or exhibiting respect
From this reading “Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.”
a metallic tapping sound
From this reading “Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.”
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.
In this reading “Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.”
In this reading “At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.”
form or compose
In this reading “She stood trying in vain to make up her mind.”
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 At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
British admiral; was captain of the H.M.S. Bounty in 1789 when part of the crew mutinied and set him afloat in an open boat; a few weeks later he arrived safely in Timor 4,000 miles away (1754-1817)
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
uttered without voice
From this reading "Go!" she breathed.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
rectangular paving stone with curved top; once used to make roads
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
having momentous consequences; of decisive importance
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Go!" she breathed.
marked by or paying little heed or attention
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She stood trying in vain to make up her mind.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
engage in
From this reading She stood trying in vain to make up her mind.
shelf that projects from wall above fireplace
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
having notes of fixed rhythmic value
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading She stood trying in vain to make up her mind.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, stop!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
a course of conduct
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
full of or exhibiting respect
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Go!" she breathed.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading She stood trying in vain to make up her mind.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading "No, stop!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
a metallic tapping sound
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She stood trying in vain to make up her mind.
in the direction of
From this reading At the sound of a slow, measured footfall on the cobblestone path outside Miss Pilbeam caught his arm and drew him towards the door.
hard to endure
From this reading She stood trying in vain to make up her mind.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She stood trying in vain to make up her mind.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading She stood trying in vain to make up her mind.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Captain Bligh waited in respectful silence, heedless of the fateful seconds ticking from the mantelpiece.
Chapter 1 of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. by W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs holds 307 sentences, grouped into 62 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 307 sentences of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4., unabridged, divided into 62 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. by W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 307 sentences, grouped into 62 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 62 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 62 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 Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. by W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 307 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10784 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10784, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 25 minutes of reading across 62 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4. 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 Sentence Deferred: Sailor's Knots, Part 4., each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
