Chapter 25 of Up the River is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of Up the River is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SAILING ACROSS THE FIELDS. I was appalled at the terrible sight. It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations. It looked like an inland sea. I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
Chapter 25 of Up the River is here in full — 139 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “I was appalled at the terrible sight.”
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading “SAILING ACROSS THE FIELDS.”
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.”
situated away from an area's coast or border
From this reading “It looked like an inland sea.”
a formal reception of visitors or guests (as at a royal court)
From this reading “I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.”
plural of “plantation” — an estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale (especially in tropical areas)
From this reading “It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.”
the work of a sailor
From this reading “SAILING ACROSS THE FIELDS.”
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading “I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.”
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.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading SAILING ACROSS THE FIELDS.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading I was appalled at the terrible sight.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I was appalled at the terrible sight.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
apart from; not including
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading SAILING ACROSS THE FIELDS.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I was appalled at the terrible sight.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
situated away from an area's coast or border
From this reading It looked like an inland sea.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
a formal reception of visitors or guests (as at a royal court)
From this reading I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It looked like an inland sea.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading It looked like an inland sea.
the force of workers available
From this reading I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
plural of “plantation” — an estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale (especially in tropical areas)
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
the work of a sailor
From this reading SAILING ACROSS THE FIELDS.
cut with a saw
From this reading I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading It looked like an inland sea.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading I was appalled at the terrible sight.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading I was appalled at the terrible sight.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading SAILING ACROSS THE FIELDS.
in or at that place or location
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was appalled at the terrible sight.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading I saw the two men struggling in the water at some distance from the levee.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading It was an open country, and there were few trees to be seen, except around the houses at the plantations.
Chapter 25 of Up the River by Oliver Optic holds 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 25 holds 139 sentences of Up the River, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of Up the River by Oliver Optic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 139 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 25 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 Up the River by Oliver Optic on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4015 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24775 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24775, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 334 minutes of reading across 803 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Up the River section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Up the River 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 Up the River, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
