Chapter 1 of The Pirate City: An Algerine Tale is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Pirate City: An Algerine Tale is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PIRATE CITY, BY R.M. BALLANTINE. A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy. The Time of the Action is about 1817. CHAPTER ONE. OPENS THE TALE.
Chapter 1 of The Pirate City: An Algerine Tale is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
an ancient port on the Mediterranean; the capital and largest city of Algeria
From this reading “A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.”
the people of Great Britain
From this reading “A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER ONE.”
an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest
From this reading “A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.”
an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
From this reading “A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.”
plural of “open” — a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
From this reading “OPENS THE TALE.”
someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own
From this reading “THE PIRATE CITY, BY R.M. BALLANTINE.”
plural of “pirate” — someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own
From this reading “A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Time of the Action is about 1817.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The Time of the Action is about 1817.
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
From this reading The Time of the Action is about 1817.
an ancient port on the Mediterranean; the capital and largest city of Algeria
From this reading A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PIRATE CITY, BY R.M. BALLANTINE.
the people of Great Britain
From this reading A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading THE PIRATE CITY, BY R.M. BALLANTINE.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading THE PIRATE CITY, BY R.M. BALLANTINE.
an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest
From this reading A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Time of the Action is about 1817.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading THE PIRATE CITY, BY R.M. BALLANTINE.
an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
From this reading A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
plural of “open” — a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
From this reading OPENS THE TALE.
someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own
From this reading THE PIRATE CITY, BY R.M. BALLANTINE.
plural of “pirate” — someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own
From this reading A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading THE PIRATE CITY, BY R.M. BALLANTINE.
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 A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PIRATE CITY, BY R.M. BALLANTINE.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading A Tale of the Pirates of the City of Algiers, and their Defeat by the British Navy.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The Time of the Action is about 1817.
Chapter 1 of The Pirate City: An Algerine Tale by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne holds 452 sentences, grouped into 91 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 452 sentences of The Pirate City: An Algerine Tale, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Pirate City: An Algerine Tale by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 452 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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.
Common questions about reading The Pirate City: An Algerine Tale by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3532 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21692 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21692, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 294 minutes of reading across 707 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Pirate City: An Algerine Tale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Pirate City: An Algerine Tale 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 Pirate City: An Algerine Tale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
