Chapter 11 of The Boy Whaleman is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Boy Whaleman is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HONOLULU AGAIN, AND SEA TALES And now for Honolulu! Every one was good-natured and happy. Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months. It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years. There were no orders to shorten sail nights.
Chapter 11 of The Boy Whaleman is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 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.
be greater in scope or size than some standard
From this reading “It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.”
the capital and largest city of Hawaii; located on a large bay on the island of Oahu
From this reading “HONOLULU AGAIN, AND SEA TALES And now for Honolulu!”
anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
From this reading “Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.”
make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration
From this reading “There were no orders to shorten sail nights.”
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “HONOLULU AGAIN, AND SEA TALES And now for Honolulu!”
plural of “vessel” — a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading “Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.”
an act of traveling by water
From this reading “It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.”
-ing form of “whale” — hunt for whales
From this reading “Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.”
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.
an auspicious state resulting from favorable outcomes
In this reading “It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.”
In this reading “It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.”
In this reading “Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.”
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.
anew
From this reading HONOLULU AGAIN, AND SEA TALES And now for Honolulu!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading HONOLULU AGAIN, AND SEA TALES And now for Honolulu!
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
without stop or interruption
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every one was good-natured and happy.
be greater in scope or size than some standard
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading HONOLULU AGAIN, AND SEA TALES And now for Honolulu!
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
having an easygoing and cheerful disposition
From this reading Every one was good-natured and happy.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Every one was good-natured and happy.
the aggregate of past events
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
the capital and largest city of Hawaii; located on a large bay on the island of Oahu
From this reading HONOLULU AGAIN, AND SEA TALES And now for Honolulu!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
Periods of darkness between sunset and sunrise.
From this reading There were no orders to shorten sail nights.
not any; not one
From this reading There were no orders to shorten sail nights.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading HONOLULU AGAIN, AND SEA TALES And now for Honolulu!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Every one was good-natured and happy.
a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
plural of “order” — (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading There were no orders to shorten sail nights.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading There were no orders to shorten sail nights.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading HONOLULU AGAIN, AND SEA TALES And now for Honolulu!
make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration
From this reading There were no orders to shorten sail nights.
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading HONOLULU AGAIN, AND SEA TALES And now for Honolulu!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were no orders to shorten sail nights.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There were no orders to shorten sail nights.
plural of “vessel” — a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
an act of traveling by water
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Every one was good-natured and happy.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were no orders to shorten sail nights.
-ing form of “whale” — hunt for whales
From this reading Few vessels in the history of whaling could beat our record of fifteen months.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
a late time of life
From this reading It was the opinion that if our good fortune continued, the voyage would not exceed three years.
Chapter 11 of The Boy Whaleman by George Fox Tucker holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 11 holds 186 sentences of The Boy Whaleman, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Boy Whaleman by George Fox Tucker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 11 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 Boy Whaleman by George Fox Tucker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3160 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62689 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62689, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 263 minutes of reading across 632 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy Whaleman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Boy Whaleman 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 Boy Whaleman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
