Chapter 20 of The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways. Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be. The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule. Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly. Not that he was altogether free from surprises.
Chapter 20 of The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/66 · 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 person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior
From this reading “We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.”
a deliberate act of omission
From this reading “The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.”
having a usually specified type of handle
From this reading “Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly.”
(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
From this reading “Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly.”
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading “The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.”
in a singular manner or to a singular degree
From this reading “We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.”
plural of “surprise” — the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading “Not that he was altogether free from surprises.”
not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune
From this reading “We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.”
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 “We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.”
In this reading “The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.”
In this reading “We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.”
In this reading “Not that he was altogether free from surprises.”
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.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading Not that he was altogether free from surprises.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.
a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior
From this reading We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.
a deliberate act of omission
From this reading The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading Not that he was altogether free from surprises.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Not that he was altogether free from surprises.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.
having a usually specified type of handle
From this reading Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Not that he was altogether free from surprises.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly.
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
not any; not one
From this reading The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not that he was altogether free from surprises.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
From this reading Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly.
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly.
in a singular manner or to a singular degree
From this reading We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.
plural of “surprise” — the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading Not that he was altogether free from surprises.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Not that he was altogether free from surprises.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune
From this reading We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
precisely as stated
From this reading Indeed time seems to have handled him very roughly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Buccaneer's island was no exception to the general rule.
structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
From this reading We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We are in these degenerate days singularly unfortunate in many ways.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Our means of excitement are nothing like what they used to be.
Chapter 20 of The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer by Richard Clynton holds 330 sentences, grouped into 66 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 20 holds 330 sentences of The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer by Richard Clynton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 330 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 20 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 Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer by Richard Clynton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4350 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36615 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36615, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 362 minutes of reading across 870 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer 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 Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
