Chapter 7 of The White Blackbird is here in full — 274 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The White Blackbird is here in full — 274 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone. "There's no hurry," Captain Dove disagreed. "And--we've Hobson to get rid of first. What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!" Slyne darted a grimace of disgust at him.
Chapter 7 of The White Blackbird is here in full — 274 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
any bird of the family Icteridae whose male is black or predominantly black
From this reading “THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.”
plural of “blaze” — a strong flame that burns brightly
From this reading “What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"”
past form of “dart” — move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading “Slyne darted a grimace of disgust at him.”
past form of “disagree” — be of different opinions
From this reading “"There's no hurry," Captain Dove disagreed.”
any of numerous small pigeons
From this reading “"There's no hurry," Captain Dove disagreed.”
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading “What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"”
contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
From this reading “Slyne darted a grimace of disgust at him.”
a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
From this reading “THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.”
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.
a man who is very old
In this reading “THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.”
do away with
In this reading “"And--we've Hobson to get rid of first.”
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 THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
From this reading What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"
later than; following
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
anew
From this reading What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And--we've Hobson to get rid of first.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Slyne darted a grimace of disgust at him.
any bird of the family Icteridae whose male is black or predominantly black
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
plural of “blaze” — a strong flame that burns brightly
From this reading What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading "There's no hurry," Captain Dove disagreed.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
past form of “dart” — move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading Slyne darted a grimace of disgust at him.
past form of “disagree” — be of different opinions
From this reading "There's no hurry," Captain Dove disagreed.
fill with distaste
From this reading Slyne darted a grimace of disgust at him.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
any of numerous small pigeons
From this reading "There's no hurry," Captain Dove disagreed.
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading "And--we've Hobson to get rid of first.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "And--we've Hobson to get rid of first.
destroyed or killed
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
From this reading Slyne darted a grimace of disgust at him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And--we've Hobson to get rid of first.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading "There's no hurry," Captain Dove disagreed.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
not any; not one
From this reading "There's no hurry," Captain Dove disagreed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "And--we've Hobson to get rid of first.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
relieve from
From this reading "And--we've Hobson to get rid of first.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "There's no hurry," Captain Dove disagreed.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "And--we've Hobson to get rid of first.
in the direction of
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And--we've Hobson to get rid of first.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"
a Caucasian
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
in the company of; together with
From this reading THE WHITE BLACKBIRD "I could do with a sleep myself!" said Slyne, as he followed the old man toward the mid-ship saloon after Sallie had gone.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What the everlasting blazes made you bring him aboard again!"
Chapter 7 of The White Blackbird by Robert Aitken holds 274 sentences, grouped into 55 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 7 holds 274 sentences of The White Blackbird, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The White Blackbird by Robert Aitken exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 274 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 7 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 White Blackbird by Robert Aitken on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5490 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39066 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39066, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 457 minutes of reading across 1098 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The White Blackbird section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The White Blackbird 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 White Blackbird, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
