Chapter 24 of Ahead of the Show is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIV
Chapter 24 of Ahead of the Show is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A CLEW. Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat. "Don't get excited, my boy," he said. "This is just the time when you need a cool head." "That's so, sir," added the visitor.
Chapter 24 of Ahead of the Show is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading “"This is just the time when you need a cool head."”
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading “"Don't get excited, my boy," he said.”
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading “Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.”
in a gradual manner
From this reading “Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.”
become less tense, rest, or take one's ease
From this reading “Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.”
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading “Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.”
someone who visits
From this reading “"That's so, sir," added the visitor.”
plural of “wattle” — a fleshy wrinkled and often brightly colored fold of skin hanging from the neck or throat of certain birds (chickens and turkeys) or lizards
From this reading “Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.”
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 “"Don't get excited, my boy," he said.”
hold firmly
In this reading “Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.”
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 CLEW.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading "That's so, sir," added the visitor.
a silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
a youthful male person
From this reading "Don't get excited, my boy," he said.
a ball of yarn or cord or thread
From this reading A CLEW.
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading "This is just the time when you need a cool head."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't get excited, my boy," he said.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading "Don't get excited, my boy," he said.
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
in a gradual manner
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Don't get excited, my boy," he said.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Don't get excited, my boy," he said.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading "This is just the time when you need a cool head."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "This is just the time when you need a cool head."
and nothing more
From this reading "This is just the time when you need a cool head."
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Don't get excited, my boy," he said.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading "This is just the time when you need a cool head."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
become less tense, rest, or take one's ease
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Don't get excited, my boy," he said.
term of address for a man
From this reading "That's so, sir," added the visitor.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "That's so, sir," added the visitor.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's so, sir," added the visitor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This is just the time when you need a cool head."
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "This is just the time when you need a cool head."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
someone who visits
From this reading "That's so, sir," added the visitor.
plural of “wattle” — a fleshy wrinkled and often brightly colored fold of skin hanging from the neck or throat of certain birds (chickens and turkeys) or lizards
From this reading Mr. Wattles stepped forward and gently forced Al to relax his hold on the man's throat.
at the time that
From this reading "This is just the time when you need a cool head."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "This is just the time when you need a cool head."
Chapter 24 of Ahead of the Show by Fred Thorpe holds 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 24 holds 109 sentences of Ahead of the Show, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 24 of Ahead of the Show by Fred Thorpe exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 24 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 Ahead of the Show by Fred Thorpe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3491 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39454 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39454, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 290 minutes of reading across 699 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ahead of the Show section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Ahead of the Show 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 Ahead of the Show, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
