Chapter 27 of The island is here in full — 47 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The island is here in full — 47 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PROMISE OF THE SKIES. I had no room-fellow that night. The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning. I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn. The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
Chapter 27 of The island is here in full — 47 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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 committee having supervisory powers
From this reading “The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.”
the act of breaking something
From this reading “The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.”
the first light of day
From this reading “I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.”
the act of departing
From this reading “The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.”
make a promise or commitment
From this reading “THE PROMISE OF THE SKIES.”
plural of “sky” — the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading “THE PROMISE OF THE SKIES.”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.”
agitating a liquid with an implement
From this reading “The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.”
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.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
In this reading “The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.”
In this reading “The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.”
In this reading “I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.”
In this reading “The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.”
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.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
the act of breaking something
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.
the first light of day
From this reading I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
start firing a weapon
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.
destroyed or killed
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had no room-fellow that night.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I had no room-fellow that night.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.
and nothing more
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
the act of departing
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading I had no room-fellow that night.
not any; not one
From this reading I had no room-fellow that night.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE PROMISE OF THE SKIES.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
make a promise or commitment
From this reading THE PROMISE OF THE SKIES.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I had no room-fellow that night.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading I should have been ready for it, if it had come at dawn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
plural of “sky” — the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading THE PROMISE OF THE SKIES.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
a person, without saying who
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
agitating a liquid with an implement
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I had no room-fellow that night.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PROMISE OF THE SKIES.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
precisely as stated
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
at the time that
From this reading The day was but just breaking, when I heard someone stirring in the next room.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading The Captain had gone on board, to sleep, leaving word that he would fire his signal-gun very early in the morning.
Chapter 27 of The island by Richard Whiteing holds 47 sentences, grouped into 10 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 27 holds 47 sentences of The island, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The island by Richard Whiteing exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 47 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 27 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.
