Chapter 1 of The cruise of the Snark is here in full — 245 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The cruise of the Snark is here in full — 245 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen. Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine. Roscoe was a yachtsman. I had followed the sea a bit. It was inevitable that we should talk about boats.
Chapter 1 of The cruise of the Snark is here in full — 245 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
a narrow secluded valley (in the mountains)
From this reading “It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.”
incapable of being avoided or prevented
From this reading “It was inevitable that we should talk about boats.”
an excavation that is (usually) filled with water
From this reading “It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.”
plural of “skin” — a natural protective body covering and site of the sense of touch
From this reading “Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.”
submerge in a liquid
From this reading “Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.”
the act of swimming
From this reading “It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.”
plural of “swim” — the act of swimming
From this reading “Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.”
a person who owns or sails a yacht
From this reading “Roscoe was a yachtsman.”
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 Roscoe was a yachtsman.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading It was inevitable that we should talk about boats.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading I had followed the sea a bit.
plural of “boat” — a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading It was inevitable that we should talk about boats.
draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading I had followed the sea a bit.
a narrow secluded valley (in the mountains)
From this reading It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had followed the sea a bit.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I had followed the sea a bit.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.
incapable of being avoided or prevented
From this reading It was inevitable that we should talk about boats.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
an excavation that is (usually) filled with water
From this reading It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roscoe was a yachtsman.
a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading I had followed the sea a bit.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading It was inevitable that we should talk about boats.
plural of “skin” — a natural protective body covering and site of the sense of touch
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
submerge in a liquid
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
the rays of the sun
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
the act of swimming
From this reading It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.
plural of “swim” — the act of swimming
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading It was inevitable that we should talk about boats.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was inevitable that we should talk about boats.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It began in the swimming pool at Glen Ellen.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading It was inevitable that we should talk about boats.
an established custom
From this reading Between swims it was our wont to come out and lie in the sand and let our skins breathe the warm air and soak in the sunshine.
a person who owns or sails a yacht
From this reading Roscoe was a yachtsman.
Chapter 1 of The cruise of the Snark by Jack London holds 245 sentences, grouped into 49 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 1 holds 245 sentences of The cruise of the Snark, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The cruise of the Snark by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 245 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 1 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 cruise of the Snark by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4507 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2512 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2512, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 375 minutes of reading across 902 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The cruise of the Snark section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The cruise of the Snark 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 cruise of the Snark, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
