Chapter 1 of Motor Matt's Mandarin is here in full — 12 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Motor Matt's Mandarin is here in full — 12 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
=No. 30.= NEW YORK, September 18, 1909. =Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI. By the author of "MOTOR MATT." =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side. A good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.
Chapter 1 of Motor Matt's Mandarin is here in full — 12 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/2 · 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 “cent” — a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading “=Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.”
a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
From this reading “A good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.”
a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback
From this reading “=Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.”
plural of “eccentricity” — strange and unconventional behavior
From this reading “=Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.”
full of or characterized by humor
From this reading “=Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.”
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading “By the author of "MOTOR MATT."”
third-person singular of “prove” — be shown or be found to be
From this reading “=Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.”
the month following August and preceding October
From this reading “=No. 30.= NEW YORK, September 18, 1909.”
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 “=Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.”
In this reading “=Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.”
In this reading “By the author of "MOTOR MATT."”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading =No. 30.= NEW YORK, September 18, 1909.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading =No. 30.= NEW YORK, September 18, 1909.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading =No. 30.= NEW YORK, September 18, 1909.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading =Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading By the author of "MOTOR MATT."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By the author of "MOTOR MATT."
plural of “cent” — a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading =Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.
an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
From this reading A good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.
a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
plural of “eccentricity” — strange and unconventional behavior
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading =Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading =Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading A good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
full of or characterized by humor
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
a boy or man
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading By the author of "MOTOR MATT."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading By the author of "MOTOR MATT."
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading =No. 30.= NEW YORK, September 18, 1909.
not any; not one
From this reading =No. 30.= NEW YORK, September 18, 1909.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading By the author of "MOTOR MATT."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
to become aware of through the senses
From this reading A good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading A good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading =Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.
third-person singular of “prove” — be shown or be found to be
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading A good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.
the month following August and preceding October
From this reading =No. 30.= NEW YORK, September 18, 1909.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading By the author of "MOTOR MATT."
a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading =Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.
neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading A good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A good chum to tie to--a point Motor Matt is quick to perceive.
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading =Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading =Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading =Price Five Cents.= TURNING A TRICK FOR TSAN TI.
which person or people
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
belonging to which person
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading =No. 30.= NEW YORK, September 18, 1909.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading =Joe McGlory=, a young cowboy who proves himself a lad of worth and character, and whose eccentricities are all on the humorous side.
Chapter 1 of Motor Matt's Mandarin by Stanley R. Matthews holds 12 sentences, grouped into 3 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 12 sentences of Motor Matt's Mandarin, unabridged, divided into 3 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Motor Matt's Mandarin by Stanley R. Matthews exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 12 sentences, grouped into 3 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 3 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 3 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 Motor Matt's Mandarin by Stanley R. Matthews on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2261 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53390 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53390, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 188 minutes of reading across 453 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Motor Matt's Mandarin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Motor Matt's Mandarin 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 Motor Matt's Mandarin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
