Chapter 1 of Dave Dawson with the Commandos is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Dave Dawson with the Commandos is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely. "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked. Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically. "No thanks," he said. "I'm close to the bursting point right now.
Chapter 1 of Dave Dawson with the Commandos is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
-ing form of “burst” — come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading “"I'm close to the bursting point right now.”
a town in northwestern Canada in the Yukon on the Yukon River; a boom town around 1900 when gold was discovered in the Klondike
From this reading “Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.”
without question and beyond doubt
From this reading “Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.”
make void or empty of contents
From this reading “Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.”
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading “Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.”
in a polite manner
From this reading “The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.”
an acknowledgment of appreciation
From this reading “"No thanks," he said.”
a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)
From this reading “The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.”
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 “Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.”
seek information from
In this reading “Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.”
In this reading “"Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.”
communicate the intended meaning or impression
In this reading “The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.”
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 The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.
any thing at all
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
-ing form of “burst” — come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading "I'm close to the bursting point right now.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading "I'm close to the bursting point right now.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
a town in northwestern Canada in the Yukon on the Yukon River; a boom town around 1900 when gold was discovered in the Klondike
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
without question and beyond doubt
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm close to the bursting point right now.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
not any; not one
From this reading "No thanks," he said.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "I'm close to the bursting point right now.
above and across; more than
From this reading The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading "I'm close to the bursting point right now.
in a polite manner
From this reading The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "I'm close to the bursting point right now.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "No thanks," he said.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.
an acknowledgment of appreciation
From this reading "No thanks," he said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Dave Dawson looked up from his empty plate and shook his head emphatically.
a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)
From this reading The waiter came over to the table and smiled politely.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Is there anything else I can get you two gentlemen?" he asked.
Chapter 1 of Dave Dawson with the Commandos by Robert Sidney Bowen holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 421 sentences of Dave Dawson with the Commandos, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Dave Dawson with the Commandos by Robert Sidney Bowen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Dave Dawson with the Commandos by Robert Sidney Bowen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4180 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42250 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42250, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 348 minutes of reading across 836 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dave Dawson with the Commandos section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Dave Dawson with the Commandos 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 Dave Dawson with the Commandos, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
