Chapter 2 of The Sauciest Boy in the Service is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Sauciest Boy in the Service is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Not particular. Call me Mr. Bowser." "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us. May I presume to ask in what capacity?" Kep jumped up.
Chapter 2 of The Sauciest Boy in the Service is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
capability to perform or produce
From this reading “May I presume to ask in what capacity?"”
having or expressing desire for something
From this reading “"Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.”
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading “"Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.”
the state of being honored
From this reading “"Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.”
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Kep jumped up.”
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading “"Not particular.”
take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
From this reading “May I presume to ask in what capacity?"”
the work of a sailor
From this reading “"Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.”
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 “Kep jumped up.”
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.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading May I presume to ask in what capacity?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Call me Mr. Bowser."
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Call me Mr. Bowser."
capability to perform or produce
From this reading May I presume to ask in what capacity?"
having or expressing desire for something
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
the state of being honored
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading May I presume to ask in what capacity?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading May I presume to ask in what capacity?"
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Kep jumped up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kep jumped up.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading May I presume to ask in what capacity?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Call me Mr. Bowser."
a form of address for a man
From this reading Call me Mr. Bowser."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not particular.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading "Not particular.
take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof
From this reading May I presume to ask in what capacity?"
the work of a sailor
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
express in words
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading May I presume to ask in what capacity?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Kep jumped up.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading May I presume to ask in what capacity?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, Master Bowser, you say you are desirous of doing us the honour of sailing with us.
Chapter 2 of The Sauciest Boy in the Service by Gordon Stables holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 2 holds 425 sentences of The Sauciest Boy in the Service, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Sauciest Boy in the Service by Gordon Stables exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 2 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 Sauciest Boy in the Service by Gordon Stables on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4263 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55663 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55663, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 355 minutes of reading across 853 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sauciest Boy in the Service section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Sauciest Boy in the Service 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 Sauciest Boy in the Service, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
