Chapter 1 of The Third Officer: A Present-Day Pirate Story is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Third Officer: A Present-Day Pirate Story is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Rivals of the Reef. A Shanghai Adventure. Pat Stobart in the "Golden Dawn". The Junior Cadet. Captain Starlight.
Chapter 1 of The Third Officer: A Present-Day Pirate Story is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading “A Shanghai Adventure.”
a military trainee (as at a military academy)
From this reading “The Junior Cadet.”
term of address for a disrespectful and annoying male
From this reading “The Junior Cadet.”
pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading “Pat Stobart in the "Golden Dawn".”
a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water
From this reading “Rivals of the Reef.”
plural of “rival” — the contestant you hope to defeat
From this reading “Rivals of the Reef.”
the largest city of China; located in the east on the Pacific; one of the largest ports in the world
From this reading “A Shanghai Adventure.”
the light of the stars
From this reading “Captain Starlight.”
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.
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 A Shanghai Adventure.
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading A Shanghai Adventure.
a military trainee (as at a military academy)
From this reading The Junior Cadet.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Starlight.
the first light of day
From this reading Pat Stobart in the "Golden Dawn".
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading Pat Stobart in the "Golden Dawn".
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Pat Stobart in the "Golden Dawn".
term of address for a disrespectful and annoying male
From this reading The Junior Cadet.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Rivals of the Reef.
pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading Pat Stobart in the "Golden Dawn".
a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water
From this reading Rivals of the Reef.
plural of “rival” — the contestant you hope to defeat
From this reading Rivals of the Reef.
the largest city of China; located in the east on the Pacific; one of the largest ports in the world
From this reading A Shanghai Adventure.
the light of the stars
From this reading Captain Starlight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pat Stobart in the "Golden Dawn".
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Rivals of the Reef.
Chapter 1 of The Third Officer: A Present-Day Pirate Story by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 192 sentences of The Third Officer: A Present-Day Pirate Story, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Third Officer: A Present-Day Pirate Story by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Third Officer: A Present-Day Pirate Story by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4977 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52632 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52632, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 414 minutes of reading across 996 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Third Officer: A Present-Day Pirate Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of The Third Officer: A Present-Day Pirate Story 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 Third Officer: A Present-Day Pirate Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
