Chapter 17 of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.” “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?” “Yes, they’re with him. Your ship broke in half in the storm. The Doctor had tied you down when he found you stunned.
Chapter 17 of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle is here in full — 207 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
possessing life
From this reading ““Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?””
plural of “animal” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading ““Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?””
lacking funds
From this reading “Your ship broke in half in the storm.”
the act of removing hair with a razor
From this reading ““He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.””
transport commercially
From this reading “Your ship broke in half in the storm.”
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading “Your ship broke in half in the storm.”
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading “The Doctor had tied you down when he found you stunned.”
bound or secured closely
From this reading “The Doctor had tied you down when he found you stunned.”
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.
possessing life
From this reading “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
(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 “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
plural of “animal” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
lacking funds
From this reading Your ship broke in half in the storm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
large migratory shorebirds of the sandpiper family; closely related to woodcocks but having a down-curved bill
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading The Doctor had tied you down when he found you stunned.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The Doctor had tied you down when he found you stunned.
set up or found
From this reading The Doctor had tied you down when he found you stunned.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The Doctor had tied you down when he found you stunned.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Your ship broke in half in the storm.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
precisely, exactly
From this reading “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
the act of removing hair with a razor
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
transport commercially
From this reading Your ship broke in half in the storm.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading Your ship broke in half in the storm.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading The Doctor had tied you down when he found you stunned.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Well, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes, they’re with him.
bound or secured closely
From this reading The Doctor had tied you down when he found you stunned.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
(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, thank Heaven he’s alive!” said I—“And Bumpo—and the animals, are they all right?”
at the time that
From this reading “He’s sitting on the other half of the _Curlew_ shaving himself—or he was, when I left him.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Yes, they’re with him.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, they’re with him.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading The Doctor had tied you down when he found you stunned.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your ship broke in half in the storm.
Chapter 17 of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting holds 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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 17 holds 207 sentences of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 207 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 17 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 Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4755 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1154 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1154, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 396 minutes of reading across 951 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle 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 Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
