Chapter 1 of The Dispatch-Riders is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Dispatch-Riders is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c. &c. The Red Pirate. The Call of the Sea. Standish of the Air Police.
Chapter 1 of The Dispatch-Riders is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 “adventure” — a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful)
From this reading “The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.”
the people of Great Britain
From this reading “The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.”
a fortified defensive structure
From this reading “The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.”
someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own
From this reading “The Red Pirate.”
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading “Standish of the Air Police.”
a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water
From this reading “The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.”
plural of “rival” — the contestant you hope to defeat
From this reading “The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.”
English colonist in America; leader of the Pilgrims in the early days of the Plymouth Colony (1584-1656)
From this reading “Standish of the Air Police.”
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.
a war between the allies (Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Montenegro) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) from 1914 to 1918
In this reading “The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.”
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.
plural of “adventure” — a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful)
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Standish of the Air Police.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
the people of Great Britain
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading The Call of the Sea.
a fortified defensive structure
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own
From this reading The Red Pirate.
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading Standish of the Air Police.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading The Red Pirate.
a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
plural of “rival” — the contestant you hope to defeat
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading The Call of the Sea.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
English colonist in America; leader of the Pilgrims in the early days of the Plymouth Colony (1584-1656)
From this reading Standish of the Air Police.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War Author of "Rivals of the Reef" "The Sea-girt Fortress" &c.
Chapter 1 of The Dispatch-Riders by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 168 sentences of The Dispatch-Riders, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Dispatch-Riders by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 Dispatch-Riders by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4869 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36500 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36500, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 974 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dispatch-Riders section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Dispatch-Riders 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 Dispatch-Riders, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
