Chapter 1 of Pirates: A Comedy in One Act is here in full — 586 sentences across 118 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Pirates: A Comedy in One Act is here in full — 586 sentences across 118 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made. They are listed at the end of the text. Italic text has been marked with _underscores_. Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty. All other rights reserved.
Chapter 1 of Pirates: A Comedy in One Act is here in full — 586 sentences across 118 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/117 · 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 “amateur” — someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime
From this reading “Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.”
a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
From this reading “Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.”
on a list
From this reading “They are listed at the end of the text.”
a sum of money paid or a claim discharged
From this reading “Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.”
something that makes repeated and regular interruptions or divisions
From this reading “Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.”
payment to the holder of a patent or copyright or resource for the right to use their property
From this reading “Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.”
forming words with letters according to the principles underlying accepted usage
From this reading “Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.”
plural of “underscore” — a line drawn underneath (especially under written matter)
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 “They are listed at the end of the text.”
In this reading “Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.”
In this reading “Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.”
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.
(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 All other rights reserved.
plural of “amateur” — someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime
From this reading Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They are listed at the end of the text.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They are listed at the end of the text.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.
plural of “change” — an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another
From this reading Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading They are listed at the end of the text.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.
a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
on a list
From this reading They are listed at the end of the text.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading All other rights reserved.
a sum of money paid or a claim discharged
From this reading Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.
carry out or perform an action
From this reading Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.
participate in games or sport
From this reading Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.
something that makes repeated and regular interruptions or divisions
From this reading Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.
set aside for the use of a particular person or party
From this reading All other rights reserved.
plural of “right” — an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
From this reading All other rights reserved.
payment to the holder of a patent or copyright or resource for the right to use their property
From this reading Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.
forming words with letters according to the principles underlying accepted usage
From this reading Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.
the words of something written
From this reading They are listed at the end of the text.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They are listed at the end of the text.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They are listed at the end of the text.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.
plural of “underscore” — a line drawn underneath (especially under written matter)
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Amateurs may perform this play without payment of royalty.
Chapter 1 of Pirates: A Comedy in One Act by Colin Clements holds 586 sentences, grouped into 118 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 586 sentences of Pirates: A Comedy in One Act, unabridged, divided into 118 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Pirates: A Comedy in One Act by Colin Clements exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 586 sentences, grouped into 118 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 118 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 118 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 Pirates: A Comedy in One Act by Colin Clements on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1171 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39609 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39609, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 97 minutes of reading across 235 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Pirates: A Comedy in One Act section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Pirates: A Comedy in One Act 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 Pirates: A Comedy in One Act, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
