Chapter 38 of The "Dock Rats" of New York is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of The "Dock Rats" of New York is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story. "Who were they?" he demanded. "Detectives." "And Vance was one of them?" "No."
Chapter 38 of The "Dock Rats" of New York is here in full — 84 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “"Who were they?" he demanded.”
possessive form of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.”
plural of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “"Detectives."”
a particular point in time
From this reading “Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.”
imagine to be the case or true or probable
From this reading “Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.”
the quality of being truthful
From this reading “Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.”
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 Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And Vance was one of them?"
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "Who were they?" he demanded.
possessive form of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
plural of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading "Detectives."
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Who were they?" he demanded.
a particular point in time
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
not any; not one
From this reading "No."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "And Vance was one of them?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
imagine to be the case or true or probable
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "And Vance was one of them?"
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Who were they?" he demanded.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
the quality of being truthful
From this reading Rigby did not for a moment appear to suspect the truthfulness of the detective's story.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And Vance was one of them?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And Vance was one of them?"
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Who were they?" he demanded.
which person or people
From this reading "Who were they?" he demanded.
Chapter 38 of The "Dock Rats" of New York by Old Sleuth holds 84 sentences, grouped into 17 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 38 holds 84 sentences of The "Dock Rats" of New York, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of The "Dock Rats" of New York by Old Sleuth exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 84 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 38 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, a public-domain edition. 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.
