Chapter 4 of The "Dock Rats" of New York is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The "Dock Rats" of New York is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him. "Hello! you've come back, eh?" called the detective. "Yes." "Well, what now?" "You are determined to go off to-night."
Chapter 4 of The "Dock Rats" of New York is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
matters of personal concern
From this reading “The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.”
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading “The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.”
characterized by great determination
From this reading “"You are determined to go off to-night."”
an expression of greeting
From this reading “"Hello! you've come back, eh?" called the detective.”
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading “The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.”
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading “The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.”
causing a surge of emotion or excitement
From this reading “The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.”
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.
matters of personal concern
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "You are determined to go off to-night."
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "Hello! you've come back, eh?" called the detective.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Hello! you've come back, eh?" called the detective.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Hello! you've come back, eh?" called the detective.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
characterized by great determination
From this reading "You are determined to go off to-night."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hello! you've come back, eh?" called the detective.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "You are determined to go off to-night."
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hello! you've come back, eh?" called the detective.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Well, what now?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "You are determined to go off to-night."
on one occasion
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
above and across; more than
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
causing a surge of emotion or excitement
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You are determined to go off to-night."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You are determined to go off to-night."
(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 "Well, what now?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Well, what now?"
at the time that
From this reading The detective stood by his boat thinking over the thrilling position of affairs, when Renie Pearce once more appeared before him.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You are determined to go off to-night."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hello! you've come back, eh?" called the detective.
Chapter 4 of The "Dock Rats" of New York by Old Sleuth holds 104 sentences, grouped into 21 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 4 holds 104 sentences of The "Dock Rats" of New York, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The "Dock Rats" of New York by Old Sleuth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 104 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 4 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 "Dock Rats" of New York by Old Sleuth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4224 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5248 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5248, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 352 minutes of reading across 845 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The "Dock Rats" of New York section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The "Dock Rats" of New York 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 "Dock Rats" of New York, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
