Chapter 27 of Mark Twain's Speeches is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of Mark Twain's Speeches is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party. At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat. Now, that was an innocent act on his part. He went out first, and of course had the choice of hats. As a rule I try to get out first myself.
Chapter 27 of Mark Twain's Speeches is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
the person or thing chosen or selected
From this reading “He went out first, and of course had the choice of hats.”
an important or influential (and often overbearing) person
From this reading “At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.”
brought about or set up or accepted; especially long established
From this reading “At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.”
an item of information that is typical of a class or group
From this reading “Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.”
plural of “hat” — headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading “He went out first, and of course had the choice of hats.”
free from evil or guilt
From this reading “Now, that was an innocent act on his part.”
a midday meal
From this reading “Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.”
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading “As a rule I try to get out first myself.”
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 Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading Now, that was an innocent act on his part.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
any person at all
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As a rule I try to get out first myself.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
the person or thing chosen or selected
From this reading He went out first, and of course had the choice of hats.
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading He went out first, and of course had the choice of hats.
an important or influential (and often overbearing) person
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
brought about or set up or accepted; especially long established
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
an item of information that is typical of a class or group
From this reading Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading He went out first, and of course had the choice of hats.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading As a rule I try to get out first myself.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He went out first, and of course had the choice of hats.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
plural of “hat” — headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading He went out first, and of course had the choice of hats.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He went out first, and of course had the choice of hats.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Now, that was an innocent act on his part.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.
free from evil or guilt
From this reading Now, that was an innocent act on his part.
a midday meal
From this reading Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading As a rule I try to get out first myself.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, that was an innocent act on his part.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Now, that was an innocent act on his part.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He went out first, and of course had the choice of hats.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading Now, that was an innocent act on his part.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading As a rule I try to get out first myself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Now, that was an innocent act on his part.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As a rule I try to get out first myself.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading As a rule I try to get out first myself.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading At the end of the party a great dignitary of the English Established Church went away half an hour before anybody else and carried off my hat.
the day immediately before today
From this reading Yesterday, for example, I was at a luncheon party.
Chapter 27 of Mark Twain's Speeches by Mark Twain holds 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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 27 holds 177 sentences of Mark Twain's Speeches, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of Mark Twain's Speeches by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 27 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 Mark Twain's Speeches by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4769 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3188 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3188, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 397 minutes of reading across 954 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mark Twain's Speeches section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Mark Twain's Speeches 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 Mark Twain's Speeches, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
