Chapter 2 of The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness. They were half-smothered, lying on their faces as they were. Sam began to fight and kick. "Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice. "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
Chapter 2 of The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
large and heavily armoured warship
From this reading “A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.”
an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
From this reading “A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.”
(usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise
From this reading “A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.”
past form of “howl” — emit long loud cries
From this reading “"Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.”
drive or propel with the foot
From this reading “Sam began to fight and kick.”
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading “"Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.”
a detachment used for security or reconnaissance
From this reading “A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.”
deliver a quick blow to
From this reading “"Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"”
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 “A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.”
In this reading “"Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “"Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"”
leave a vehicle, aircraft, etc.
In this reading “"Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.”
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 SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Sam began to fight and kick.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They were half-smothered, lying on their faces as they were.
large and heavily armoured warship
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Sam began to fight and kick.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading They were half-smothered, lying on their faces as they were.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading Sam began to fight and kick.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They were half-smothered, lying on their faces as they were.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.
(usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
past form of “howl” — emit long loud cries
From this reading "Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.
drive or propel with the foot
From this reading Sam began to fight and kick.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading They were half-smothered, lying on their faces as they were.
being or made softer or less loud or clear
From this reading "Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.
the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading "Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading They were half-smothered, lying on their faces as they were.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
go across or through
From this reading "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
a detachment used for security or reconnaissance
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
deliver a quick blow to
From this reading "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
freed from illness or injury
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading Sam began to fight and kick.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They were half-smothered, lying on their faces as they were.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were half-smothered, lying on their faces as they were.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading A SERIOUS CHARGE By the time the patrol reached headquarters the Battleship Boys had recovered consciousness.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sam began to fight and kick.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "Get off my neck!" he howled, in a muffled voice.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were half-smothered, lying on their faces as they were.
at the time that
From this reading "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Get off, or I'll pass you a punch when I get out of this!"
Chapter 2 of The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service by Frank Gee Patchin holds 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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 2 holds 224 sentences of The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service by Frank Gee Patchin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 2 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 in Foreign Service by Frank Gee Patchin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3444 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42940 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42940, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 287 minutes of reading across 689 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service 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 in Foreign Service, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
