Chapter 12 of The Cruise of the Dry Dock is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Cruise of the Dry Dock is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it. She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel. For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways. A joyous medley arose from the dock. "Th' _Vulcan_!
Chapter 12 of The Cruise of the Dry Dock is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
plural of “castaway” — a person who is rejected (from society or home)
From this reading “For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways.”
cut or impressed into a surface
From this reading “THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.”
a conical shape with a wider and a narrower opening at the two ends
From this reading “She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.”
having or furnished with a mast; often used in combination
From this reading “THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.”
a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources
From this reading “A joyous medley arose from the dock.”
rip off; ask an unreasonable price
From this reading “She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.”
damaged by decay; hence unsound and useless
From this reading “THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.”
(Roman mythology) god of fire and metal working; counterpart of Greek Hephaestus
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 THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
at or on or to the masthead or upper rigging of a ship
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
inflected form of “arise” — come into existence; take on form or shape
From this reading A joyous medley arose from the dock.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways.
plural of “castaway” — a person who is rejected (from society or home)
From this reading For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
an enclosure in a court of law where the defendant sits during the trial
From this reading A joyous medley arose from the dock.
cut or impressed into a surface
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A joyous medley arose from the dock.
a conical shape with a wider and a narrower opening at the two ends
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
full of or characterized by joy
From this reading A joyous medley arose from the dock.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
a state of no motion or movement
From this reading For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways.
having or furnished with a mast; often used in combination
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources
From this reading A joyous medley arose from the dock.
a particular point in time
From this reading For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways.
a large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
rip off; ask an unreasonable price
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
damaged by decay; hence unsound and useless
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
not in physical motion
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
short and thick; as e.g. having short legs and heavy musculature
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
the fifth day of the week; the fourth working day
From this reading "Th' _Vulcan_!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
(Roman mythology) god of fire and metal working; counterpart of Greek Hephaestus
From this reading THE RETURN OF THE _VULCAN_ Etched against the horizon lay a stumpy masted vessel that seemed as still and dead as ocean that rotted around it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading For the moment this lifelessness was not observed by the hungry castaways.
Chapter 12 of The Cruise of the Dry Dock by T. S. (Thomas Sigismund) Stribling holds 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 12 holds 218 sentences of The Cruise of the Dry Dock, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Cruise of the Dry Dock by T. S. (Thomas Sigismund) Stribling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 12 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.
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About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Cruise of the Dry Dock, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
