Chapter 9 of Tales of Chinatown is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Tales of Chinatown is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Is Mr. Bampton in?” asked Harley. “Yus, just come in. I'm cookin' his supper.” “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.” “All right,” said the black-faced one.
Chapter 9 of Tales of Chinatown is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading ““Is Mr. Bampton in?” asked Harley.”
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading ““Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.””
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading ““Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.””
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading ““Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.””
of great significance or value
From this reading ““Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.””
on the contrary
From this reading ““Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.””
precisely, exactly
From this reading ““All right,” said the black-faced one.”
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading “I'm cookin' his supper.””
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 right,” said the black-faced one.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Is Mr. Bampton in?” asked Harley.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Is Mr. Bampton in?” asked Harley.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “All right,” said the black-faced one.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Yus, just come in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm cookin' his supper.”
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Is Mr. Bampton in?” asked Harley.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I'm cookin' his supper.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm cookin' his supper.”
of great significance or value
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Is Mr. Bampton in?” asked Harley.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is Mr. Bampton in?” asked Harley.
and nothing more
From this reading “Yus, just come in.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Is Mr. Bampton in?” asked Harley.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “All right,” said the black-faced one.
on the contrary
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
precisely, exactly
From this reading “All right,” said the black-faced one.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “All right,” said the black-faced one.
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading I'm cookin' his supper.”
express in words
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “All right,” said the black-faced one.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “Tell him that two friends of his have called on rather important business.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yus, just come in.
Chapter 9 of Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 9 holds 401 sentences of Tales of Chinatown, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 9 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 Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5212 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5697 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5697, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 434 minutes of reading across 1043 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales of Chinatown section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Tales of Chinatown 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 Tales of Chinatown, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
