Chapter 17 of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea is here in full — 389 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea is here in full — 389 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I? A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage. Why, you have been three." "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you. My father's a clergyman.
Chapter 17 of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea is here in full — 389 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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.
brought into existence
From this reading “"Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.”
a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of the Christian Church
From this reading “My father's a clergyman.”
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “My father's a clergyman.”
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading “A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.”
plural of “sailor” — any member of a ship's crew
From this reading “"Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.”
transport commercially
From this reading “A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “Why, you have been three."”
an act of traveling by water
From this reading “A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.”
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 A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Why, you have been three."
brought into existence
From this reading "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.
a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of the Christian Church
From this reading My father's a clergyman.
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading My father's a clergyman.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Why, you have been three."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.
plural of “sailor” — any member of a ship's crew
From this reading "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.
transport commercially
From this reading A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Why, you have been three."
an act of traveling by water
From this reading A ship!" laughed Syd; "and this is my first voyage.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, you have been three."
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Why, you have been three."
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Yes, but then your people have always been sailors, and it's born with you.
Chapter 17 of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea by George Manville Fenn holds 389 sentences, grouped into 78 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 389 sentences of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 389 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6856 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21373 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21373, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 571 minutes of reading across 1372 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea 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 Syd Belton: The Boy Who Would Not Go to Sea, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
