Chapter 13 of The Night-Born is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of The Night-Born is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“'One moment, please, Captain. I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.' “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again. He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke. “'Shark,' he volunteered, pointing to the water.
Chapter 13 of The Night-Born is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading ““She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.”
a cheap disreputable nightclub or dance hall
From this reading ““She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.”
plural of “native” — an indigenous person who was born in a particular place
From this reading “I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'”
any of numerous elongate mostly marine carnivorous fishes with heterocercal caudal fins and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales
From this reading ““'Shark,' he volunteered, pointing to the water.”
plural of “shark” — any of numerous elongate mostly marine carnivorous fishes with heterocercal caudal fins and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales
From this reading “I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'”
having a handwritten signature
From this reading ““She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.”
to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
From this reading ““She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.”
past form of “volunteer” — tell voluntarily
From this reading ““'Shark,' he volunteered, pointing to the water.”
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 He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
anew
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
(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 He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
a youthful male person
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading “'One moment, please, Captain.
the men and women who man a vehicle (ship, aircraft, etc.)
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
a cheap disreputable nightclub or dance hall
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
a particular point in time
From this reading “'One moment, please, Captain.
plural of “native” — an indigenous person who was born in a particular place
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “'One moment, please, Captain.
above and across; more than
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading “'One moment, please, Captain.
-ing form of “point” — indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively
From this reading “'Shark,' he volunteered, pointing to the water.
any of numerous elongate mostly marine carnivorous fishes with heterocercal caudal fins and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales
From this reading “'Shark,' he volunteered, pointing to the water.
plural of “shark” — any of numerous elongate mostly marine carnivorous fishes with heterocercal caudal fins and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
having a handwritten signature
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her, and signed to him to dive over again.
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
From this reading I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
past form of “volunteer” — tell voluntarily
From this reading “'Shark,' he volunteered, pointing to the water.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading “'Shark,' he volunteered, pointing to the water.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He shook his head, and along with all his crew behind him laughed as if it were a good joke.
Chapter 13 of The Night-Born by Jack London holds 220 sentences, grouped into 44 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 220 sentences of The Night-Born, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of The Night-Born by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 220 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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.
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Yes. All 4015 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1029 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1029, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 334 minutes of reading across 803 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Night-Born section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Night-Born 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 Night-Born, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
