Chapter 13 of Tales of Chinatown is here in full — 382 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Tales of Chinatown is here in full — 382 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then: “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable. “You saw--when?” “Just before you arrived, sir. He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
Chapter 13 of Tales of Chinatown is here in full — 382 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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.
one of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes
From this reading “I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:”
a lawman with less authority and jurisdiction than a sheriff
From this reading ““It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.”
having gaps or spaces
From this reading “He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.””
having or involving the use of hands
From this reading “I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:”
possessive form of “james” — a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.””
an insane person
From this reading “He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.””
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading ““It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.”
the sport of engaging in contests of speed
From this reading “He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.””
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 came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading “Just before you arrived, sir.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “Just before you arrived, sir.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
one of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
a lawman with less authority and jurisdiction than a sheriff
From this reading “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
having gaps or spaces
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
having or involving the use of hands
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
possessive form of “james” — a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
and nothing more
From this reading “Just before you arrived, sir.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
an insane person
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
a form of address for a man
From this reading “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
the sport of engaging in contests of speed
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
cut with a saw
From this reading “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
term of address for a man
From this reading “Just before you arrived, sir.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading He came racing out into St. James's Street and dashed off like a madman.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “It must have been Mr. Adderley I saw,” muttered the constable.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I handed him my card and explained what had occurred, then:
at the time that
From this reading “You saw--when?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You saw--when?”
Chapter 13 of Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer holds 382 sentences, grouped into 77 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 13 holds 382 sentences of Tales of Chinatown, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 382 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 13 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.
