Chapter 1 of Captain Brassbound's Conversion is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Captain Brassbound's Conversion is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
RANKIN (drily changing the subject). And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London? SIR HOWARD (greatly surprised, pulling himself together) Our last meeting! Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance? RANKIN.
Chapter 1 of Captain Brassbound's Conversion is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
marked by continuous change or effective action
From this reading “RANKIN (drily changing the subject).”
plural of “dock” — an enclosure in a court of law where the defendant sits during the trial
From this reading “And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?”
being ten more than thirty
From this reading “And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?”
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading “SIR HOWARD (greatly surprised, pulling himself together) Our last meeting!”
not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
From this reading “And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?”
the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading “SIR HOWARD (greatly surprised, pulling himself together) Our last meeting!”
leader in the women's suffrage movement in Montana; the first woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives (1880-1973)
From this reading “RANKIN (drily changing the subject).”
not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune
From this reading “Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance?”
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.
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance?
in the past
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
the past participle of “be”
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
marked by continuous change or effective action
From this reading RANKIN (drily changing the subject).
plural of “dock” — an enclosure in a court of law where the defendant sits during the trial
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
in a dry laconic manner
From this reading RANKIN (drily changing the subject).
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance?
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance?
being ten more than thirty
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
to an extraordinary extent or degree
From this reading SIR HOWARD (greatly surprised, pulling himself together) Our last meeting!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading SIR HOWARD (greatly surprised, pulling himself together) Our last meeting!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading SIR HOWARD (greatly surprised, pulling himself together) Our last meeting!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
immediately past
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance?
not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance?
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading SIR HOWARD (greatly surprised, pulling himself together) Our last meeting!
leader in the women's suffrage movement in Montana; the first woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives (1880-1973)
From this reading RANKIN (drily changing the subject).
from a time in the past until now
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
term of address for a man
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading RANKIN (drily changing the subject).
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading SIR HOWARD (greatly surprised, pulling himself together) Our last meeting!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading RANKIN (drily changing the subject).
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance?
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading SIR HOWARD (greatly surprised, pulling himself together) Our last meeting!
not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune
From this reading Mr. Rankin: have I been unfortunate enough to forget an old acquaintance?
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading And how have ye been, Sir Howrrd, since our last meeting that morning nigh forty year ago down at the docks in London?
Chapter 1 of Captain Brassbound's Conversion by Bernard Shaw holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 400 sentences of Captain Brassbound's Conversion, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Captain Brassbound's Conversion by Bernard Shaw exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Captain Brassbound's Conversion by Bernard Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2832 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3418 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3418, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 236 minutes of reading across 567 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Captain Brassbound's Conversion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Captain Brassbound's Conversion 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 Captain Brassbound's Conversion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
