Chapter 1 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story is here in full — 627 sentences across 126 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story is here in full — 627 sentences across 126 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I wish “James Walker” could have it. He had friends; he liked company. That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last. The pathos of it! It comes before me often and often.
Chapter 1 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story is here in full — 627 sentences across 126 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 66/125 · 5 reading units · Lines 326–330
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.
third-person singular of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.”
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading “It comes before me often and often.”
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading “He had friends; he liked company.”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “I wish “James Walker” could have it.”
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading “He had friends; he liked company.”
a quality that arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow)
From this reading “The pathos of it!”
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading “That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.”
New Zealand runner who in 1975 became the first person to run a mile in less that 3 minutes and 50 seconds (born in 1952)
From this reading “I wish “James Walker” could have it.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It comes before me often and often.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It comes before me often and often.
third-person singular of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading It comes before me often and often.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading He had friends; he liked company.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I wish “James Walker” could have it.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading He had friends; he liked company.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had friends; he liked company.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I wish “James Walker” could have it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had friends; he liked company.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wish “James Walker” could have it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I wish “James Walker” could have it.
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading I wish “James Walker” could have it.
immediately past
From this reading That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading He had friends; he liked company.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It comes before me often and often.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.
many times at short intervals
From this reading It comes before me often and often.
a quality that arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow)
From this reading The pathos of it!
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.
cut with a saw
From this reading That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading That brings up that picture of him, the time that I saw him last.
New Zealand runner who in 1975 became the first person to run a mile in less that 3 minutes and 50 seconds (born in 1952)
From this reading I wish “James Walker” could have it.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading I wish “James Walker” could have it.
Chapter 1 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story by Mark Twain holds 627 sentences, grouped into 126 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 1 holds 627 sentences of A Double Barrelled Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 126 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Double Barrelled Detective Story by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 627 sentences, grouped into 126 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 126 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 126 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 1 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 A Double Barrelled Detective Story by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1257 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3180 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3180, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 104 minutes of reading across 252 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Double Barrelled Detective Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of A Double Barrelled Detective Story 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 A Double Barrelled Detective Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
