Chapter 1 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c. CHAP. I. Concerning "A Certain Person" II. The Secret of the Black Box III. Up a Tree IV.
Chapter 1 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.”
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading “The Secret of the Black Box III.”
a boy or man
From this reading “CHAP.”
-ing form of “concern” — be relevant to
From this reading “I. Concerning "A Certain Person" II.”
United States rhythm and blues pianist and singer and composer (born in 1928)
From this reading “Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.”
religious residence in a monastery governed by a prior or a convent governed by a prioress
From this reading “Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.”
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading “The Secret of the Black Box III.”
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 “I. Concerning "A Certain Person" II.”
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 I. Concerning "A Certain Person" II.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The Secret of the Black Box III.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading The Secret of the Black Box III.
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading I. Concerning "A Certain Person" II.
a boy or man
From this reading CHAP.
-ing form of “concern” — be relevant to
From this reading I. Concerning "A Certain Person" II.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.
United States rhythm and blues pianist and singer and composer (born in 1928)
From this reading Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I. Concerning "A Certain Person" II.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading I. Concerning "A Certain Person" II.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading The Secret of the Black Box III.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading Up a Tree IV.
a woman of refinement
From this reading Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.
a human being
From this reading I. Concerning "A Certain Person" II.
religious residence in a monastery governed by a prior or a convent governed by a prioress
From this reading Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading The Secret of the Black Box III.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Author of "Madam Domino" "Bellcroft Priory" "The Cragsmen" &c.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading Up a Tree IV.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Up a Tree IV.
Chapter 1 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion by W. Bourne Cooke holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 405 sentences of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion by W. Bourne Cooke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 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 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 The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion by W. Bourne Cooke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3642 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53641 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53641, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 303 minutes of reading across 729 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion 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 The Black Box: A Tale of Monmouth's Rebellion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
