The Wreck of the Red Bird

Chapter XIV

Chapter 14 of The Wreck of the Red Bird is here in full — 53 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By George Cary Eggleston • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Wreck of the Red Bird

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IN THE GRAY OF THE MORNING.

As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

You know what you said after the wreck.

You and I have to look after Charley to-day, and we may have need of all our wits and all our strength; so, for his sake, if not for our own, we must force a full breakfast down our throats.

It will steady as well as strengthen us.

Narrator

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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Wreck of the Red Bird

Chapter XIV

Chapter 14 of The Wreck of the Red Bird is here in full — 53 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/10 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

IN THE GRAY OF THE MORNING.

/ɪn ðə ɡreɪ ʌv ðə ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/

Line 2

As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

Line 3

You know what you said after the wreck.

/juː noʊ wʌt juː sed ˈæftər ðə rek/

Line 4

You and I have to look after Charley to-day, and we may have need of all our wits and all our strength; so, for his sake, if not for our own, we must force a full breakfast down our throats.

Line 5

It will steady as well as strengthen us.

/ɪt wɪl ˈstedi æz wel æz ˈstreŋθən ʌs/

Learner Dictionary

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.

dawn noun US /dɔːn/

the first light of day

From this reading “As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.”

flush noun US /flʌʃ/

the period of greatest prosperity or productivity

From this reading “As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.”

lose verb US /luːz/

fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense

From this reading “As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.”

steady verb US /ˈstedi/

make steady

From this reading “It will steady as well as strengthen us.”

strengthen verb US /ˈstreŋθən/

make strong or stronger

From this reading “It will steady as well as strengthen us.”

throats noun US /θroʊts/

plural of “throat” — the passage to the stomach and lungs; in the front part of the neck below the chin and above the collarbone

From this reading “You and I have to look after Charley to-day, and we may have need of all our wits and all our strength; so, for his sake, if not for our own, we must force a full breakfast down our throats.”

wits noun US /wɪts/

the basic human power of intelligent thought and perception

wreck noun US /rek/

something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation

From this reading “You know what you said after the wreck.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

first flush adjective + noun

In this reading “As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.”

look after verb + particle

keep under careful scrutiny

In this reading “You and I have to look after Charley to-day, and we may have need of all our wits and all our strength; so, for his sake, if not for our own, we must force a full breakfast down our throats.”

All words in this reading · 55

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading You and I have to look after Charley to-day, and we may have need of all our wits and all our strength; so, for his sake, if not for our own, we must force a full breakfast down our throats.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading You know what you said after the wreck.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

appearedverbUS /əˈpɪrd/

past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

AsconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

breakfastverbUS /ˈbrekfəst/

eat an early morning meal

Charley

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

dawnnounUS /dɔːn/

the first light of day

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

downadjectiveUS /daʊn/

being or moving lower in position or less in some value

firstadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/

preceding all others in time or space or degree

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

flushnounUS /flʌʃ/

the period of greatest prosperity or productivity

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

forcenounUS /fɔːrs/

a powerful effect or influence

fulladjectiveUS /fʊl/

containing as much or as many as is possible or normal

GRAYnounUS /ɡreɪ/

a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black

From this reading IN THE GRAY OF THE MORNING.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

headsnounUS /hedz/

plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

INprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading IN THE GRAY OF THE MORNING.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It will steady as well as strengthen us.

JacknounUS /dʒæk/

a small worthless amount

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

knowverbUS /noʊ/

be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about

From this reading You know what you said after the wreck.

lookverbUS /lʊk/

perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

loseverbUS /luːz/

fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

maymodal verbUS /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

MORNINGnounUS /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/

the time period between dawn and noon

From this reading IN THE GRAY OF THE MORNING.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

mustn't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

Ned

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

neednounUS /niːd/

a condition requiring relief

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading IN THE GRAY OF THE MORNING.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

ownverbUS /oʊn/

have ownership or possession of

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

sakenounUS /seɪk/

a reason for wanting something done

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

steadyverbUS /ˈstedi/

make steady

From this reading It will steady as well as strengthen us.

strengthnounUS /streŋkθ/

the property of being physically or mentally strong

strengthenverbUS /ˈstreŋθən/

make strong or stronger

From this reading It will steady as well as strengthen us.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading IN THE GRAY OF THE MORNING.

throatsnounUS /θroʊts/

plural of “throat” — the passage to the stomach and lungs; in the front part of the neck below the chin and above the collarbone

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

to-day

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

uspronounUS /ʌs/

the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading It will steady as well as strengthen us.

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading As the first flush of dawn appeared Ned said: "Jack, we mustn't lose our heads.

welladverbUS /wel/

(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 It will steady as well as strengthen us.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading You know what you said after the wreck.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading It will steady as well as strengthen us.

witsnounUS /wɪts/

the basic human power of intelligent thought and perception

wrecknounUS /rek/

something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation

From this reading You know what you said after the wreck.

YoupronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading You know what you said after the wreck.

Chapter 14 of The Wreck of the Red Bird by George Cary Eggleston holds 53 sentences, grouped into 11 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.

What does chapter 14 of The Wreck of the Red Bird contain?

Chapter 14 holds 53 sentences of The Wreck of the Red Bird, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 14 of The Wreck of the Red Bird by George Cary Eggleston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 53 sentences, grouped into 11 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.

How do I study chapter 14 of The Wreck of the Red Bird?

Work through the 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 11 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.

Can chapter 14 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 14 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.

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Is this the complete text of The Wreck of the Red Bird?

Yes. All 2375 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40941 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #40941, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Wreck of the Red Bird take to read?

About 197 minutes of reading across 475 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Wreck of the Red Bird

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Wreck of the Red Bird, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wreck of the Red Bird; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Brother: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wreck of the Red Bird; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Captain: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wreck of the Red Bird; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Signal: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wreck of the Red Bird; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XIV

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