Chapter 15 of The Raft is here in full — 570 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Raft is here in full — 570 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There was one more letter from Jehane. She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business. She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury. He was working very hard--too hard for his health. He was overambitious.
Chapter 15 of The Raft is here in full — 570 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/114 · 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 healthy state of wellbeing free from disease
From this reading “He was working very hard--too hard for his health.”
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading “She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.”
of great significance or value
From this reading “She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.”
excessively ambitious
From this reading “He was overambitious.”
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
From this reading “She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.”
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading “She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.”
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading “He was working very hard--too hard for his health.”
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading “She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.”
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 “She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.”
In this reading “She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.”
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.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He was working very hard--too hard for his health.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading There was one more letter from Jehane.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading He was working very hard--too hard for his health.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease
From this reading He was working very hard--too hard for his health.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was working very hard--too hard for his health.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.
of great significance or value
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was one more letter from Jehane.
and nothing more
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading There was one more letter from Jehane.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading There was one more letter from Jehane.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading There was one more letter from Jehane.
excessively ambitious
From this reading He was overambitious.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was one more letter from Jehane.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
From this reading She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.
precisely as stated
From this reading He was working very hard--too hard for his health.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading She understood that he had been too hurried to be able to visit Topbury.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was one more letter from Jehane.
in or at the place that
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading He was working very hard--too hard for his health.
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading She wrote that Ocky had just returned from London, where he had been on important business.
Chapter 15 of The Raft by Coningsby Dawson holds 570 sentences, grouped into 114 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 15 holds 570 sentences of The Raft, unabridged, divided into 114 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Raft by Coningsby Dawson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 570 sentences, grouped into 114 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 114 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 114 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 15 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 Raft by Coningsby Dawson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13021 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50498 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50498, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2605 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Raft section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Raft 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 Raft, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
