Chapter 1 of The Burglars' Club is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Burglars' Club is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE TWELVE CHRONICLES. "'HE'S one of us,' the burglar explained. 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life. We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us. We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.
Chapter 1 of The Burglars' Club is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
plural of “bachelor” — a man who has never been married
From this reading “We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.”
A person who commits illegal entry into a building with intent to steal valuable treasures.
From this reading “"'HE'S one of us,' the burglar explained.”
plural of “burglar” — a thief who enters a building with intent to steal
From this reading “We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.”
plural of “chronicle” — a record or narrative description of past events
From this reading “THE TWELVE CHRONICLES.”
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading “'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.”
an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
From this reading “We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.”
plural of “pleasure” — a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading “'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.”
plural of “sportsman” — someone who engages in sports
From this reading “We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.”
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.
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 We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.
(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 We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
plural of “bachelor” — a man who has never been married
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.
A person who commits illegal entry into a building with intent to steal valuable treasures.
From this reading "'HE'S one of us,' the burglar explained.
plural of “burglar” — a thief who enters a building with intent to steal
From this reading We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.
plural of “chronicle” — a record or narrative description of past events
From this reading THE TWELVE CHRONICLES.
a team of professional baseball players who play and travel together
From this reading We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading "'HE'S one of us,' the burglar explained.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'HE'S one of us,' the burglar explained.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
the force of workers available
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "'HE'S one of us,' the burglar explained.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "'HE'S one of us,' the burglar explained.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
plural of “pleasure” — a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
plural of “sportsman” — someone who engages in sports
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE TWELVE CHRONICLES.
in or at that place or location
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We've started a Burglars' Club to help things on a bit.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading THE TWELVE CHRONICLES.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "'HE'S one of us,' the burglar explained.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We've all been in the Army or the Navy, all of us are sportsmen, and we are bachelors; so there isn't much excitement left for us.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
which person or people
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading 'You see, we are men who have pretty well exhausted the pleasures of life.
Chapter 1 of The Burglars' Club by Henry Augustus Hering holds 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 426 sentences of The Burglars' Club, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Burglars' Club by Henry Augustus Hering exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Burglars' Club by Henry Augustus Hering on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4272 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40897 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40897, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 356 minutes of reading across 855 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Burglars' Club section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Burglars' Club 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 Burglars' Club, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
