Chapter 1 of Swirling Waters is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Swirling Waters is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER. THE COCKATOO. AUTHOR OF "THE MIND-READER," "THE COCKATOO," ETC. On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon. He was a clean-limbed man of thirty-seven.
Chapter 1 of Swirling Waters is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
white or light-colored crested parrot of the Australian region; often kept as cage birds
From this reading “THE COCKATOO.”
of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis
From this reading “On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.”
a person skilled in large scale financial transactions
From this reading “On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.”
a person skilled in a particular type of therapy
From this reading “THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.”
a city in east-central France on the Rhone River; a principal producer of silk and rayon
From this reading “On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.”
a scientist trained in psychology
From this reading “THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.”
changing location rapidly
From this reading “On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.”
Spanish missionary and Jesuit who establish missionaries in Japan and Ceylon and the East Indies (1506-1552)
From this reading “THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.”
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 On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MIND-READER," "THE COCKATOO," ETC.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
having well-proportioned limbs
From this reading He was a clean-limbed man of thirty-seven.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
white or light-colored crested parrot of the Australian region; often kept as cage birds
From this reading THE COCKATOO.
of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MIND-READER," "THE COCKATOO," ETC.
a person skilled in large scale financial transactions
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was a clean-limbed man of thirty-seven.
a person skilled in a particular type of therapy
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
a city in east-central France on the Rhone River; a principal producer of silk and rayon
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He was a clean-limbed man of thirty-seven.
march in a procession
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
involving the mind or an intellectual process
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
plural of “page” — one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
a scientist trained in psychology
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
changing location rapidly
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
being seven more than thirty
From this reading He was a clean-limbed man of thirty-seven.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading On the crucial night of his career, 14 March, 191-, Clifford Matheson, financier, was speeding in a taxi-cab to the Gare de Lyon.
English playwright noted for his humorous and satirical plays (1640-1716)
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
Spanish missionary and Jesuit who establish missionaries in Japan and Ceylon and the East Indies (1506-1552)
From this reading THE MIND-READER, BEING SOME PAGES FROM THE LIFE OF DR XAVIER WYCHERLEY, PSYCHOLOGIST AND MENTAL HEALER.
Chapter 1 of Swirling Waters by Max Rittenberg holds 104 sentences, grouped into 21 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 104 sentences of Swirling Waters, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Swirling Waters by Max Rittenberg exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 104 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 Swirling Waters by Max Rittenberg on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8727 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18789 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18789, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1746 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Swirling Waters section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Swirling Waters 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 Swirling Waters, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
