Chapter 13 of The island is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The island is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A MISSION. A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement. ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle. We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures. There is the action of labour, but little effect.
Chapter 13 of The island is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
someone who acts or responds in a mechanical or apathetic way
From this reading “We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.”
state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one
From this reading “A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.”
affected by blight; anything that mars or prevents growth or prosperity
From this reading “’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.”
a small island
From this reading “’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.”
a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
From this reading “There is the action of labour, but little effect.”
the act of tarrying
From this reading “’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.”
an organization of missionaries in a foreign land sent to carry on religious work
From this reading “A MISSION.”
the rays of the sun
From this reading “’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.”
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 deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.”
bypass
In this reading “’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.”
In this reading “We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.”
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 MISSION.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading There is the action of labour, but little effect.
anew
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
someone who acts or responds in a mechanical or apathetic way
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one
From this reading A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.
affected by blight; anything that mars or prevents growth or prosperity
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading There is the action of labour, but little effect.
of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
From this reading A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.
plural of “figure” — a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is the action of labour, but little effect.
a small island
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
From this reading There is the action of labour, but little effect.
a state of comatose torpor (as found in sleeping sickness)
From this reading A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
the act of tarrying
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading There is the action of labour, but little effect.
a feeling of thoughtful sadness
From this reading A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.
an organization of missionaries in a foreign land sent to carry on religious work
From this reading A MISSION.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
and nothing more
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading A deep melancholy, an extreme lassitude follow our great bereavement.
above and across; more than
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
not in physical motion
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
the rays of the sun
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is the action of labour, but little effect.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ’Tis as though Death had passed over us, and his lingering shadow still blighted the sunlight of the Isle.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading We turned to work again, but, at first, only like automaton figures.
Chapter 13 of The island by Richard Whiteing holds 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 13 holds 103 sentences of The island, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The island by Richard Whiteing exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 13 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 island by Richard Whiteing on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3120 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73620 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73620, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 260 minutes of reading across 624 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The island section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The island 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 island, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
