Chapter 1 of Sordman the Protector is here in full — 499 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Sordman the Protector is here in full — 499 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He was the most powerful man in the world. He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind! In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner. "I'll go up there by myself," Sordman said. He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.
Chapter 1 of Sordman the Protector is here in full — 499 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/99 · 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.
relating to or peculiar to or suggestive of an adolescent
From this reading “In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.”
the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face
From this reading “He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.”
a general name for alcoholic beverages made by fermenting a cereal (or mixture of cereals) flavored with hops
From this reading “In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.”
possessive form of “criminal” — someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
From this reading “He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!”
the cardinal number that is the sum of thirteen and one
From this reading “In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.”
a person who is owned by someone
From this reading “He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!”
lacking neatness or order
From this reading “He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.”
two items of the same kind
From this reading “In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.”
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 “He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.”
In this reading “He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.”
a teenager or a young adult male
In this reading “He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.”
In this reading “He was the most powerful man in the world.”
In this reading “He was the most powerful man in the world.”
In this reading “In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.”
move upward
In this reading “"I'll go up there by myself," Sordman said.”
In this reading “He was the most powerful man in the world.”
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 He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
relating to or peculiar to or suggestive of an adolescent
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
any person at all
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
any thing at all
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face
From this reading He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.
a general name for alcoholic beverages made by fermenting a cereal (or mixture of cereals) flavored with hops
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "I'll go up there by myself," Sordman said.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
possessive form of “criminal” — someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
the cardinal number that is the sum of thirteen and one
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
a young female
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "I'll go up there by myself," Sordman said.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was the most powerful man in the world.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'll go up there by myself," Sordman said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was the most powerful man in the world.
roused to anger
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
engage in
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He was the most powerful man in the world.
attach a tag or label to
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
the force of workers available
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
used to form the superlative
From this reading He was the most powerful man in the world.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading "I'll go up there by myself," Sordman said.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
having great power or force or potency or effect
From this reading He was the most powerful man in the world.
a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I'll go up there by myself," Sordman said.
a person who is owned by someone
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
lacking neatness or order
From this reading He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'll go up there by myself," Sordman said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was the most powerful man in the world.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "I'll go up there by myself," Sordman said.
two items of the same kind
From this reading In a beer hall on the eighty-first floor of the Hotel Mark Twain fourteen men held an adolescent girl prisoner.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "I'll go up there by myself," Sordman said.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was the most powerful man in the world.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading He was the most powerful man in the world.
but in spite of that
From this reading He could make anybody do anything--and yet he was the slave of a mad criminal's mind!
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading He was a big young man with sloppy black hair and a red beard.
Chapter 1 of Sordman the Protector by Tom Purdom holds 499 sentences, grouped into 100 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 499 sentences of Sordman the Protector, unabridged, divided into 100 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Sordman the Protector by Tom Purdom exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 499 sentences, grouped into 100 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 100 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 100 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 Sordman the Protector by Tom Purdom on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 999 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51445 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51445, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 83 minutes of reading across 200 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sordman the Protector section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Sordman the Protector 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 Sordman the Protector, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
