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 am sorry if I did not hear. What can I do for you?” There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward. The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim. “Is your name P. G. Northover?” he asked.
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 63/95 · 5 reading units · Lines 311–315
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.
permission to do something
From this reading “There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.”
open to doubt or suspicion
From this reading “There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.”
not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading “The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim.”
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading “There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.”
a feeling of righteous anger
From this reading “There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.”
to a remarkable degree or extent
From this reading “The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim.”
an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance
From this reading “There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.”
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 There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “I am sorry if I did not hear.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Is your name P. G. Northover?” he asked.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading What can I do for you?”
permission to do something
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “I am sorry if I did not hear.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What can I do for you?”
open to doubt or suspicion
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading What can I do for you?”
at or to or toward the front
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading “Is your name P. G. Northover?” he asked.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “I am sorry if I did not hear.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I am sorry if I did not hear.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “I am sorry if I did not hear.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is your name P. G. Northover?” he asked.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim.
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “Is your name P. G. Northover?” he asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Is your name P. G. Northover?” he asked.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “I am sorry if I did not hear.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
a feeling of righteous anger
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading “Is your name P. G. Northover?” he asked.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “I am sorry if I did not hear.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
to a remarkable degree or extent
From this reading The letter was in his hand, and he looked unusually grim.
an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a doubtful pause, and then, by general consent, the Major himself, the victim of the outrage, stepped forward.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What can I do for you?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What can I do for you?”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Is your name P. G. Northover?” he asked.
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.
