Chapter VII of The Battleship Boys at Sea, “The Red-Headed Boy’s Surprise,” is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VII
Chapter VII of The Battleship Boys at Sea, “The Red-Headed Boy’s Surprise,” is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer. “Let me see the rifle.” He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked. “When did this happen?” “About an hour ago, sir.”
Chapter VII of The Battleship Boys at Sea, “The Red-Headed Boy’s Surprise,” is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading ““I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer.”
in a critical manner
From this reading “He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.”
past form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading “He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.”
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading “He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.”
past form of “rebuke” — censure severely or angrily
From this reading “He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.”
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading ““Let me see the rifle.””
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading “He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.”
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading “He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.”
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 ““About an hour ago, sir.””
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “About an hour ago, sir.”
in the past
From this reading “About an hour ago, sir.”
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading “I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “About an hour ago, sir.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
in a critical manner
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “When did this happen?”
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
past form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer.
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer.
come to pass
From this reading “When did this happen?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading “About an hour ago, sir.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “Let me see the rifle.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Let me see the rifle.”
a particular point in time
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading “I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer.
past form of “rebuke” — censure severely or angrily
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading “Let me see the rifle.”
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
express in words
From this reading “I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “Let me see the rifle.”
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer.
term of address for a man
From this reading “About an hour ago, sir.”
having a supporting base
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I should say it had!” exclaimed the amazed officer.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “When did this happen?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading He examined the weapon critically, Sam standing at attention, expecting every moment to be severely rebuked.
at the time that
From this reading “When did this happen?”
Chapter 7 of The Battleship Boys at Sea by Frank Gee Patchin holds 84 sentences, grouped into 17 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 7 holds 84 sentences of The Battleship Boys at Sea, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Battleship Boys at Sea by Frank Gee Patchin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 84 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 7 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 Battleship Boys at Sea by Frank Gee Patchin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4009 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36322 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36322, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 334 minutes of reading across 802 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Battleship Boys at Sea section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Battleship Boys at 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 The Battleship Boys at Sea, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
