Chapter 4 of Tales of the Fish Patrol is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Tales of the Fish Patrol is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features. “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.” “How were we to know till we tried her?” Nicholas asked, so innocently as to cause a laugh. “And how do you get the oysters?” he hurried on.
Chapter 4 of Tales of the Fish Patrol is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
feel admiration for
From this reading ““Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.”
in a not unlawful manner
From this reading “Nicholas asked, so innocently as to cause a laugh.”
a native or inhabitant of Mexico
From this reading ““Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.”
a bishop in Asia Minor who is associated with Santa Claus (4th century)
From this reading “Nicholas asked, so innocently as to cause a laugh.”
plural of “oyster” — marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters
From this reading ““And how do you get the oysters?” he hurried on.”
a state of decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor
From this reading ““I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.””
past form of “sneer” — express through a scornful smile
From this reading ““Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.”
a relatively large open container that you fill with water and use to wash the body
From this reading ““I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.””
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 “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
feel admiration for
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And how do you get the oysters?” he hurried on.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Nicholas asked, so innocently as to cause a laugh.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Nicholas asked, so innocently as to cause a laugh.
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading Nicholas asked, so innocently as to cause a laugh.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “And how do you get the oysters?” he hurried on.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
plural of “feature” — a prominent attribute or aspect of something
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “How were we to know till we tried her?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How were we to know till we tried her?”
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading “And how do you get the oysters?” he hurried on.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
in a not unlawful manner
From this reading Nicholas asked, so innocently as to cause a laugh.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “How were we to know till we tried her?”
the sound of laughing
From this reading Nicholas asked, so innocently as to cause a laugh.
a native or inhabitant of Mexico
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
a bishop in Asia Minor who is associated with Santa Claus (4th century)
From this reading Nicholas asked, so innocently as to cause a laugh.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
have ownership or possession of
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
plural of “oyster” — marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters
From this reading “And how do you get the oysters?” he hurried on.
a state of decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
past form of “sneer” — express through a scornful smile
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Nicholas asked, so innocently as to cause a laugh.
carry out
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
To perceive flavor through the mouth.
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
up to a particular time
From this reading “How were we to know till we tried her?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “How were we to know till we tried her?”
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading “How were we to know till we tried her?”
a relatively large open container that you fill with water and use to wash the body
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “I’d rot on the beach first before I’d take a tub that couldn’t get out of its own way.”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “How were we to know till we tried her?”
(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 “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “How were we to know till we tried her?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “And how do you get the oysters?” he hurried on.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Well, I don’t admire your taste, that’s all,” sneered he of the Mexican features.
Chapter 4 of Tales of the Fish Patrol by Jack London holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 185 sentences of Tales of the Fish Patrol, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Tales of the Fish Patrol by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 4 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 Tales of the Fish Patrol by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1679 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #911 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #911, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 139 minutes of reading across 336 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales of the Fish Patrol section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Tales of the Fish Patrol 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 Tales of the Fish Patrol, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
