Chapter 4 of Christopher and the Clockmakers is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Christopher and the Clockmakers is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds." "My back was not turned, sir," objected Hollings. "I merely looked away a minute." "Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work." "It hardly seemed so."
Chapter 4 of Christopher and the Clockmakers is here in full — 216 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
English explorer who with John Speke was the first European to explore Lake Tanganyika (1821-1890)
From this reading “AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."”
plural of “diamond” — a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading “AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."”
come together
From this reading “AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."”
past form of “object” — express or raise an objection or protest or criticism or express dissent
From this reading “"My back was not turned, sir," objected Hollings.”
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading “"Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."”
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading “AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."”
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading “"Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."”
having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange
From this reading “AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."”
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 “"Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."”
In this reading “AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."”
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 "I merely looked away a minute."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "I merely looked away a minute."
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
English explorer who with John Speke was the first European to explore Lake Tanganyika (1821-1890)
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
plural of “diamond” — a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
come together
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
only a very short time before
From this reading "It hardly seemed so."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I merely looked away a minute."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It hardly seemed so."
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "I merely looked away a minute."
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
and nothing more
From this reading "I merely looked away a minute."
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading "I merely looked away a minute."
a form of address for a man
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "My back was not turned, sir," objected Hollings.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "My back was not turned, sir," objected Hollings.
past form of “object” — express or raise an objection or protest or criticism or express dissent
From this reading "My back was not turned, sir," objected Hollings.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading "Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading "Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "It hardly seemed so."
term of address for a man
From this reading "My back was not turned, sir," objected Hollings.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading "Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."
moved around an axis or center
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
during the time that
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
in the company of; together with
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading "Long enough to give a pair of thieves the opportunity to work."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE "And so, Hollings," the great Mr. Burton began, "while your back was turned, you have lost some of our valuable diamonds."
Chapter 4 of Christopher and the Clockmakers by Sara Ware Bassett holds 216 sentences, grouped into 44 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 4 holds 216 sentences of Christopher and the Clockmakers, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Christopher and the Clockmakers by Sara Ware Bassett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 216 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 4 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 Christopher and the Clockmakers by Sara Ware Bassett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3975 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26857 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26857, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 331 minutes of reading across 795 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Christopher and the Clockmakers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Christopher and the Clockmakers 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 Christopher and the Clockmakers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
