Chapter XVIII of The Adventures of Billy Topsail, “246,” is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XVIII of The Adventures of Billy Topsail, “246,” is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?" Captain Hand demanded. "Long Tom, sir." "Who shipped you?" "I stowed away in a bunker, sir."
Chapter XVIII of The Adventures of Billy Topsail, “246,” is here in full — 234 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
From this reading “_Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"”
a hazard on a golf course
From this reading “"I stowed away in a bunker, sir."”
a speaker who dictates to a secretary or a recording machine
From this reading “_Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"”
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “_Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"”
a strong wind moving 45-90 knots; force 7 to 10 on Beaufort scale
From this reading “_Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"”
the direction in which the wind is blowing
inflected form of “ship” — transport commercially
From this reading “_Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"”
past form of “stow” — fill by packing tightly
From this reading “"I stowed away in a bunker, sir."”
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.
hide aboard a ship or a plane to get free transportation
In this reading “"I stowed away in a bunker, sir."”
In this reading “_Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"”
In this reading “_Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"”
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 _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "I stowed away in a bunker, sir."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
a hazard on a golf course
From this reading "I stowed away in a bunker, sir."
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Hand demanded.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
the prevailing context that influences the performance or the outcome of a process
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading Captain Hand demanded.
a speaker who dictates to a secretary or a recording machine
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
a strong wind moving 45-90 knots; force 7 to 10 on Beaufort scale
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
a speaker whose voice sounds like a growl
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Captain Hand demanded.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I stowed away in a bunker, sir."
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
the direction in which the wind is blowing
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "Long Tom, sir."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
inflected form of “ship” — transport commercially
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
term of address for a man
From this reading "Long Tom, sir."
past form of “stow” — fill by packing tightly
From this reading "I stowed away in a bunker, sir."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
male cat
From this reading "Long Tom, sir."
a sail (or either of a pair of sails) immediately above the lowermost sail of a mast and supported by a topmast
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
a formal word for “on”
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
which person or people
From this reading "Who shipped you?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ "WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?"
Chapter 18 of The Adventures of Billy Topsail by Norman Duncan holds 234 sentences, grouped into 47 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 18 holds 234 sentences of The Adventures of Billy Topsail, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Adventures of Billy Topsail by Norman Duncan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 234 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 18 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 The Adventures of Billy Topsail by Norman Duncan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4255 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44037 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44037, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 354 minutes of reading across 851 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Adventures of Billy Topsail section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Adventures of Billy Topsail 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 The Adventures of Billy Topsail, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
