Chapter 20 of Sink or Swim is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Sink or Swim is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HARRY GETS INTO TROUBLE. Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit. “It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said. “Put on these clothes.” He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
Chapter 20 of Sink or Swim is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading “Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.”
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading “Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.”
plural of “duty” — the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading ““It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said.”
plural of “get” — a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent
From this reading “HARRY GETS INTO TROUBLE.”
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading “HARRY GETS INTO TROUBLE.”
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading “He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.”
the conversion of wasteland into land suitable for use of habitation or cultivation
From this reading “He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.”
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading “Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.”
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 Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.”
get involved in or with
In this reading “HARRY GETS INTO TROUBLE.”
put clothing on one's body
In this reading ““Put on these clothes.””
In this reading “HARRY GETS INTO TROUBLE.”
take possession of
In this reading ““It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said.”
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 Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
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 Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
clothing in general
From this reading “Put on these clothes.”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
plural of “duty” — the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading “It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
plural of “get” — a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent
From this reading HARRY GETS INTO TROUBLE.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading HARRY GETS INTO TROUBLE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said.
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading HARRY GETS INTO TROUBLE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Put on these clothes.”
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “Put on these clothes.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
the conversion of wasteland into land suitable for use of habitation or cultivation
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading “Put on these clothes.”
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading “It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
a source of difficulty
From this reading HARRY GETS INTO TROUBLE.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Captain Brandon entered the cabin, carrying under his arm a cabin-boy’s suit.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading “It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He expected a renewal of Harry’s remonstrances; but our hero had made up his mind what to do.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “It’s time you entered upon your duties,” he said.
Chapter 20 of Sink or Swim by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 133 sentences, grouped into 27 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 133 sentences of Sink or Swim, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Sink or Swim by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 133 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 Sink or Swim by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4592 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59517 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59517, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 382 minutes of reading across 919 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sink or Swim section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of Sink or Swim 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 Sink or Swim, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
