Chapter 1 of The Comic History of Rome is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Comic History of Rome is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH. BY GILBERT ABBOTT À BECKET. ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN LEECH. BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET. LONDON: BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
Chapter 1 of The Comic History of Rome is here in full — 350 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/70 · 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.
(Roman Catholic Church) archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170; murdered following his opposition to Henry II's attempts to control the clergy (1118-1170)
From this reading “BY GILBERT ABBOTT À BECKET.”
United States writer of science fiction (born 1920)
From this reading “BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.”
the official name of some states in the United States (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and Virginia and Kentucky) and associated territories (Puerto Rico)
From this reading “FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH.”
United States anatomist who identified four pituitary hormones and discovered vitamin E (1882-1971)
From this reading “BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.”
the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new
From this reading “FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH.”
a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns
From this reading “BY GILBERT ABBOTT À BECKET.”
carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end
From this reading “ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN LEECH.”
plural of “printer” — someone whose occupation is printing
From this reading “LONDON: BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.”
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 “ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN LEECH.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY GILBERT ABBOTT À BECKET.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.
(Roman Catholic Church) archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170; murdered following his opposition to Henry II's attempts to control the clergy (1118-1170)
From this reading BY GILBERT ABBOTT À BECKET.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.
United States writer of science fiction (born 1920)
From this reading BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY GILBERT ABBOTT À BECKET.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
the official name of some states in the United States (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and Virginia and Kentucky) and associated territories (Puerto Rico)
From this reading FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
United States anatomist who identified four pituitary hormones and discovered vitamin E (1882-1971)
From this reading BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.
the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new
From this reading FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns
From this reading BY GILBERT ABBOTT À BECKET.
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN LEECH.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN LEECH.
carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end
From this reading ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN LEECH.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading LONDON: BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
plural of “printer” — someone whose occupation is printing
From this reading LONDON: BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY TO THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON: BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY GILBERT ABBOTT À BECKET.
Chapter 1 of The Comic History of Rome by Gilbert Abbott À Beckett holds 350 sentences, grouped into 70 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 350 sentences of The Comic History of Rome, unabridged, divided into 70 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Comic History of Rome by Gilbert Abbott À Beckett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 350 sentences, grouped into 70 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 70 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 70 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 Comic History of Rome by Gilbert Abbott À Beckett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3692 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37657 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37657, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 307 minutes of reading across 739 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Comic History of Rome section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Comic History of Rome 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 Comic History of Rome, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
