Chapter 31 of Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver. The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car. It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars. The conductor was like a maniac. He always had craved excitement and adventure.
Chapter 31 of Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
plural of “car” — a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading “It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.”
the person who leads a musical group
From this reading “The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.”
wanted intensely
From this reading “He always had craved excitement and adventure.”
past form of “lurch” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.”
an insane person
From this reading “The conductor was like a maniac.”
plural of “policeman” — a member of a police force
From this reading “It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.”
the sport of engaging in contests of speed
From this reading “The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.”
the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time
From this reading “It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.”
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 conductor was like a maniac.”
In this reading “It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.”
trace
In this reading “It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.”
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 The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading He always had craved excitement and adventure.
at or in the front
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading He always had craved excitement and adventure.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He always had craved excitement and adventure.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
plural of “car” — a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
the person who leads a musical group
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
plural of “corner” — a place off to the side of an area
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
wanted intensely
From this reading He always had craved excitement and adventure.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading He always had craved excitement and adventure.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He always had craved excitement and adventure.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The conductor was like a maniac.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
past form of “lurch” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
an insane person
From this reading The conductor was like a maniac.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
plural of “policeman” — a member of a police force
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
the sport of engaging in contests of speed
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The street-car conductor drove the little machine as if it had been a racing car.
inflected form of “swing” — move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time
From this reading It lurched around corners, almost ran down traffic policemen, swung ahead of street cars.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The conductor was like a maniac.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading AN EMPTY NET Muggs never forgot that wild ride in the flivver.
Chapter 31 of Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley holds 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 31 holds 96 sentences of Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 96 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 31 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 Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story by Johnston McCulley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5077 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40484 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40484, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 423 minutes of reading across 1016 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Black Star's Campaign: A 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 Black Star's Campaign: A Detective Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
