Chapter 27 of The "Dock Rats" of New York is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The "Dock Rats" of New York is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero. "On your way to the city?" "Yes." "Do you go there often?" "No."
Chapter 27 of The "Dock Rats" of New York is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading “The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.”
past form of “attract” — direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
From this reading “The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.”
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading “The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.”
the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable
From this reading “The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.”
referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
From this reading “The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.”
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading “The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.”
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading “The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.”
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 The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
past form of “attract” — direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
next to; at the side of
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading "On your way to the city?"
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Do you go there often?"
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
a city in northeastern France in Lorraine
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
not any; not one
From this reading "No."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
many times at short intervals
From this reading "Do you go there often?"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "On your way to the city?"
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Do you go there often?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
up to a particular time
From this reading The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "On your way to the city?"
(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 The detective acted well his part, and attracted little attention from the master of the "Nancy," until the latter, for lack of something better to do, took a seat beside our hero.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Do you go there often?"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "On your way to the city?"
Chapter 27 of The "Dock Rats" of New York by Old Sleuth holds 124 sentences, grouped into 25 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 27 holds 124 sentences of The "Dock Rats" of New York, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The "Dock Rats" of New York by Old Sleuth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 124 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 27 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.
