Chapter 11 of Two sailor lads is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Two sailor lads is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"FRIENDS FOR LIFE"--ROUND THE CAMP FIRE. The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest. They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht. They dug and dug for hours. Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
Chapter 11 of Two sailor lads is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
a central cohesive source of support and stability
From this reading “Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.”
the act of digging
From this reading “They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.”
an udder or breast or teat
From this reading “They dug and dug for hours.”
planned and made or fashioned artistically
From this reading “They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.”
plural of “kink” — a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading “Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.”
past form of “phrase” — put into words or an expression
From this reading “Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.”
plural of “spade” — a playing card in the major suit that has one or more black figures on it
From this reading “They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.”
straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading “Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.”
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 “The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.”
settle or put right
In this reading “Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.”
In this reading “Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.”
In this reading “They dug and dug for hours.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
a central cohesive source of support and stability
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
From this reading "FRIENDS FOR LIFE"--ROUND THE CAMP FIRE.
past form of “commence” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
the act of digging
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
an udder or breast or teat
From this reading They dug and dug for hours.
characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
planned and made or fashioned artistically
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
start firing a weapon
From this reading "FRIENDS FOR LIFE"--ROUND THE CAMP FIRE.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "FRIENDS FOR LIFE"--ROUND THE CAMP FIRE.
the sixth day of the week; the fifth working day
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "FRIENDS FOR LIFE"--ROUND THE CAMP FIRE.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading They dug and dug for hours.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
plural of “kink” — a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "FRIENDS FOR LIFE"--ROUND THE CAMP FIRE.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
past form of “phrase” — put into words or an expression
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading "FRIENDS FOR LIFE"--ROUND THE CAMP FIRE.
socially incorrect in behavior
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
in the near future
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
plural of “spade” — a playing card in the major suit that has one or more black figures on it
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
straighten up or out; make straight
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "FRIENDS FOR LIFE"--ROUND THE CAMP FIRE.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Then the Crusoe stood up to straighten out the "kinks from his backbone," as he himself phrased it.
precisely as stated
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
(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 They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading The next morning after breakfast Crusoe and Friday set to work in earnest.
an expensive vessel propelled by sail or power and used for cruising or racing
From this reading They very soon fashioned rude spades, and the tide being well back they commenced digging around the yacht.
Chapter 11 of Two sailor lads by Gordon Stables holds 141 sentences, grouped into 29 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 11 holds 141 sentences of Two sailor lads, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Two sailor lads by Gordon Stables exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 141 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 11 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 Two sailor lads by Gordon Stables on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Two sailor lads section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Two sailor lads 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 Two sailor lads, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
