Chapter 1 of The nigger of the "Narcissus" is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The nigger of the "Narcissus" is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke. It was nine o’clock. Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?” The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir. All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
Chapter 1 of The nigger of the "Narcissus" is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 15/89 · 5 reading units · Lines 71–75
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.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
From this reading “Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?””
someone who bakes commercially
From this reading “Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?””
plural of “chap” — a boy or man
From this reading “All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....”
steps consisting of two parallel members connected by rungs; for climbing up or down
From this reading “The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.”
past form of “limp” — walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
From this reading “The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.”
obscene terms for feces
From this reading “Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.”
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading “Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.”
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 Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
someone who bakes commercially
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
terminate
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
plural of “chap” — a boy or man
From this reading All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
increase twofold
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was nine o’clock.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
steps consisting of two parallel members connected by rungs; for climbing up or down
From this reading The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.
past form of “limp” — walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
From this reading The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
the force of workers available
From this reading All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading It was nine o’clock.
according to the clock
From this reading It was nine o’clock.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
obscene terms for feces
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
in a reflective manner
From this reading The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.
term of address for a man
From this reading The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Above his head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.
in or at that place or location
From this reading All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has come....
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:— “I think so, sir.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, asked:—“Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was nine o’clock.
Chapter 1 of The nigger of the "Narcissus" by Joseph Conrad holds 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 1 holds 449 sentences of The nigger of the "Narcissus", unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The nigger of the "Narcissus" by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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.
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Yes. All 3518 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17731 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17731, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 293 minutes of reading across 704 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The nigger of the "Narcissus" section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The nigger of the "Narcissus" 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 nigger of the "Narcissus", each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
