Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter. To know why my name is written across your garden. Not amicably either.” He spoke grimly, for the thing had hit him. It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades is here in full — 476 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 30/95 · 5 reading units · Lines 146–150
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.
in an amicable manner
From this reading “Not amicably either.””
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading “It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.”
give a description of
From this reading “It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.”
enclose in or as if in a frame
From this reading “It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.”
in a grim implacable manner
From this reading “He spoke grimly, for the thing had hit him.”
the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual
From this reading “It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.”
commanding attention
From this reading “It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.”
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading “It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.”
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 It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading To know why my name is written across your garden.
in an amicable manner
From this reading Not amicably either.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
give a description of
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
one or the other of two
From this reading Not amicably either.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He spoke grimly, for the thing had hit him.
enclose in or as if in a frame
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading To know why my name is written across your garden.
in a grim implacable manner
From this reading He spoke grimly, for the thing had hit him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He spoke grimly, for the thing had hit him.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He spoke grimly, for the thing had hit him.
cause to move by striking
From this reading He spoke grimly, for the thing had hit him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
a woman of refinement
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading To know why my name is written across your garden.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading To know why my name is written across your garden.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not amicably either.”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
past form of “produce” — bring forth or yield
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading He spoke grimly, for the thing had hit him.
commanding attention
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It is impossible to describe the effect produced on the mind by that quiet and sunny garden scene, the frame for a stunning and brutal personality.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
a special situation
From this reading He spoke grimly, for the thing had hit him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “I have come, madam,” he said, “to know what is the matter.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading To know why my name is written across your garden.
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading To know why my name is written across your garden.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading To know why my name is written across your garden.
Chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton holds 476 sentences, grouped into 96 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 476 sentences of The Club of Queer Trades, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 476 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 Club of Queer Trades by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2767 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1696 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1696, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 230 minutes of reading across 554 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Club of Queer Trades section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Club of Queer Trades 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 Club of Queer Trades, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
