Chapter 29 of Vanderdecken is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXIX
Chapter 29 of Vanderdecken is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began. At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed. A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents. It died out after dawn. Hank called George to look.
Chapter 29 of Vanderdecken is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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.
being moved or acted upon by moving air or vapor
From this reading “A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.”
the act of digging
From this reading “THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.”
a coil of rope or wool or yarn
From this reading “At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.”
plural of “sleeper” — a rester who is sleeping
From this reading “A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.”
the act of snoring or producing a snoring sound
From this reading “A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.”
plural of “tent” — a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading “A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.”
not necessarily inaudible but not heard
From this reading “A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.”
disregarded
From this reading “A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.”
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 SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.”
a wind that blows from the north
In this reading “A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.”
In this reading “A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.”
In this reading “THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.”
become extinct
In this reading “It died out after dawn.”
In this reading “At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.”
In this reading “A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.”
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 A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
later than; following
From this reading It died out after dawn.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
a distinct feature or element in a problem
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.
being moved or acted upon by moving air or vapor
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Hank called George to look.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
the first light of day
From this reading It died out after dawn.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading It died out after dawn.
the act of digging
From this reading THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading Hank called George to look.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
a coil of rope or wool or yarn
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It died out after dawn.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Hank called George to look.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.
the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
From this reading THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
plural of “sleeper” — a rester who is sleeping
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
the act of snoring or producing a snoring sound
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
with strength or in a strong manner
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
plural of “tent” — a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SAND At seven the next morning the digging began.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Hank called George to look.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
not necessarily inaudible but not heard
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
disregarded
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
at the time that
From this reading At six, when Hank turned out of the tent, the aspect of the beach had changed.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading A north wind, rising before midnight, had blown steadily and strongly unheard and unheeded by the snoring sleepers in the tents.
Chapter 29 of Vanderdecken by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole holds 55 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.
Chapter 29 holds 55 sentences of Vanderdecken, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 29 of Vanderdecken by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 55 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.
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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 29 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 Vanderdecken by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4194 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54473 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54473, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 349 minutes of reading across 839 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Vanderdecken section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Vanderdecken 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 Vanderdecken, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
