Chapter 1 of Second to None — Volume 1 is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Second to None — Volume 1 is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SECOND TO NONE. A Military Romance. AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC. ETC. IN THREE VOLUMES.
Chapter 1 of Second to None — Volume 1 is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.”
a medium size square-rigged warship of the 18th and 19th centuries
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.”
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.”
of or relating to the study of the principles of warfare
From this reading “A Military Romance.”
a relationship between two lovers
From this reading “A Military Romance.”
plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading “IN THREE VOLUMES.”
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.”
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.”
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 “IN THREE VOLUMES.”
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 A Military Romance.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.
a medium size square-rigged warship of the 18th and 19th centuries
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN THREE VOLUMES.
of or relating to the study of the principles of warfare
From this reading A Military Romance.
not one, and not any
From this reading SECOND TO NONE.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.
a relationship between two lovers
From this reading A Military Romance.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading SECOND TO NONE.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading IN THREE VOLUMES.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading SECOND TO NONE.
plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading IN THREE VOLUMES.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," ETC.
Chapter 1 of Second to None — Volume 1 by James Grant holds 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 71 sentences of Second to None — Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Second to None — Volume 1 by James Grant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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.
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About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Second to None — Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Second to None — Volume 1 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 Second to None — Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
