Chapter 1 of The Ghost Breaker is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Ghost Breaker is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PRINCESS. No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday. It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you. Some day you may know the reason why. JARVIS.
Chapter 1 of The Ghost Breaker is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
lacking funds
From this reading “No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.”
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading “No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.”
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading “It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you.”
The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.
From this reading “PRINCESS.”
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading “No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.”
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber
From this reading “No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.”
the day immediately before today
From this reading “No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.”
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 It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you.
lacking funds
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Some day you may know the reason why.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Some day you may know the reason why.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Some day you may know the reason why.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
not any; not one
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
by chance
From this reading It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you.
The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.
From this reading PRINCESS.
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading Some day you may know the reason why.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some day you may know the reason why.
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Some day you may know the reason why.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you.
the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Some day you may know the reason why.
the day immediately before today
From this reading No---- (JARVIS _takes contents out of trunk._) I broke it myself on purpose--yesterday.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading It means a great deal to me and perhaps to you.
Chapter 1 of The Ghost Breaker by Paul Dickey holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 424 sentences of The Ghost Breaker, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Ghost Breaker by Paul Dickey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Ghost Breaker by Paul Dickey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2144 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24702 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24702, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 178 minutes of reading across 429 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ghost Breaker section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Ghost Breaker 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 Ghost Breaker, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
