Chapter 1 of One-Way Ticket to Nowhere is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of One-Way Ticket to Nowhere is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
[Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished. And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...] "Jeff Blake!" Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport. "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
Chapter 1 of One-Way Ticket to Nowhere is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/95 · 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.
visionary British poet and painter (1757-1827)
From this reading “And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]”
coming down or downward
From this reading “Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.”
any tree or shrub of the genus Ilex having red berries and shiny evergreen leaves with prickly edges
From this reading “Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.”
tied with a knot
From this reading “Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.”
an acute disease characterized by fever and swollen lymph nodes and an abnormal increase of mononuclear leucocytes or monocytes in the bloodstream; not highly contagious; some believe it can be transmitted by kissing
From this reading “[Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.”
a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading “Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.”
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading “Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.”
something that serves as a means of transportation
From this reading “Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.”
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.
establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study
In this reading “And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]”
become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
In this reading “"This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."”
In this reading “[Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.”
move forward or upward in order to touch; also in a metaphorical sense
In this reading “Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.”
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 [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
visionary British poet and painter (1757-1827)
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
coming down or downward
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
a mental representation of some haunting experience
From this reading [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
destroyed or killed
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
any tree or shrub of the genus Ilex having red berries and shiny evergreen leaves with prickly edges
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
tied with a knot
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
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 "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
an acute disease characterized by fever and swollen lymph nodes and an abnormal increase of mononuclear leucocytes or monocytes in the bloodstream; not highly contagious; some believe it can be transmitted by kissing
From this reading [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
create by training and teaching
From this reading [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
something that serves as a means of transportation
From this reading Holly O'Toole's knotted hand reached out and grasped the right hand of the passenger descending from the rocket transport.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
having passed out of existence
From this reading [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
at the time that
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
in or at the place that
From this reading And it was up to Jeff Blake to find out where it had gone...]
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading [Sidenote: Like a ghost in the night a whole Mono train vanished.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "This is a hell of a night to come home, when a man's been away as long as you have."
Chapter 1 of One-Way Ticket to Nowhere by Leroy Yerxa holds 476 sentences, grouped into 96 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 476 sentences of One-Way Ticket to Nowhere, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of One-Way Ticket to Nowhere by Leroy Yerxa exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 476 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 One-Way Ticket to Nowhere by Leroy Yerxa on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 955 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32754 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32754, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 79 minutes of reading across 191 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through One-Way Ticket to Nowhere section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of One-Way Ticket to Nowhere 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 One-Way Ticket to Nowhere, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
