Chapter 23 of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DEEP BLUE SEA. I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end. At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale. At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly. It was thunder!
Chapter 23 of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading “I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.”
a heavy, closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents)
From this reading “I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.”
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading “At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading “At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.”
make a low noise
From this reading “At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.”
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 “At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.”
move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading “It was thunder!”
showing curiosity
From this reading “I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.”
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 “I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.”
in a lengthy or prolix manner
In this reading “At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.”
In this reading “THE DEEP BLUE SEA.”
In this reading “At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.”
In this reading “I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.”
lose (s.th.) or lose the right to (s.th.) by some error, offense, or crime
In this reading “At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.”
In this reading “At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.”
In this reading “At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.”
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 At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading THE DEEP BLUE SEA.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
a heavy, closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents)
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading THE DEEP BLUE SEA.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was thunder!
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
by chance
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
on the contrary
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
make a low noise
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading THE DEEP BLUE SEA.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
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 At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
express in words
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DEEP BLUE SEA.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading It was thunder!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading At present things looked rather blue, and perhaps neither Phil nor I would live to tell the tale.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
at the time that
From this reading At length, when I was about to give up in despair, a low rumble brought me to my feet instantly.
showing curiosity
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I lay several hours under the canvas, wondering how the adventure would end.
Chapter 23 of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire by Edward Stratemeyer holds 95 sentences, grouped into 19 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 23 holds 95 sentences of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire by Edward Stratemeyer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 95 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 23 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 Last Cruise of the Spitfire by Edward Stratemeyer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3938 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34367 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34367, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 328 minutes of reading across 788 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Last Cruise of the Spitfire section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Last Cruise of the Spitfire 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 Last Cruise of the Spitfire, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
