Chapter 26 of Sink or Swim is here in full — 136 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of Sink or Swim is here in full — 136 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ADRIFT. The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance. Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean. Instinct led him to strike out. In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.
Chapter 26 of Sink or Swim is here in full — 136 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
aimlessly drifting
From this reading “ADRIFT.”
put to death as punishment
From this reading “The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.”
inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
From this reading “Instinct led him to strike out.”
to extremes
From this reading “In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.”
cover with planks
From this reading “In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.”
the action of opposing something that you disapprove or disagree with
From this reading “The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.”
a result
From this reading “In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.”
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading “Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.”
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 “In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.”
remove from a list
In this reading “Instinct led him to strike out.”
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.
aimlessly drifting
From this reading ADRIFT.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.
(military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.
put to death as punishment
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
set up or found
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli
From this reading Instinct led him to strike out.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading Instinct led him to strike out.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
not any; not one
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Instinct led him to strike out.
to extremes
From this reading In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.
cover with planks
From this reading In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.
with speed
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
the action of opposing something that you disapprove or disagree with
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
a result
From this reading In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
From this reading Instinct led him to strike out.
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
in or at that place or location
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The attack made upon our hero was so sudden and so rapidly executed, that there was no opportunity for resistance.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading In response to his cry the plank was thrown overboard, as we know.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Before he well knew what had happened to him he found himself struggling in the ocean.
Chapter 26 of Sink or Swim by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 136 sentences, grouped into 28 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 26 holds 136 sentences of Sink or Swim, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of Sink or Swim by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 136 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 26 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.
