Chapter 1 of The Imperialist is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Imperialist is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“We’ve seen changes, Mr Murchison. Aye. We’ve seen changes.” Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune. They had pretty well begun life together in Elgin.
Chapter 1 of The Imperialist is here in full — 123 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.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “They had pretty well begun life together in Elgin.”
plural of “change” — an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another
From this reading ““We’ve seen changes, Mr Murchison.”
connected with or engaged in or sponsored by or used in commerce or commercial enterprises
From this reading “Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.”
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading “Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.”
major items of military weaponry (as tanks or missile)
From this reading “Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.”
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.”
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading “Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.”
marked by diversity or difference
From this reading “Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aye.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading They had pretty well begun life together in Elgin.
plural of “change” — an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another
From this reading “We’ve seen changes, Mr Murchison.
connected with or engaged in or sponsored by or used in commerce or commercial enterprises
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had pretty well begun life together in Elgin.
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
major items of military weaponry (as tanks or missile)
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading They had pretty well begun life together in Elgin.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “We’ve seen changes, Mr Murchison.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We’ve seen changes, Mr Murchison.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
above and across; more than
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading They had pretty well begun life together in Elgin.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “We’ve seen changes, Mr Murchison.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had pretty well begun life together in Elgin.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
marked by diversity or difference
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We’ve seen changes, Mr Murchison.
(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 They had pretty well begun life together in Elgin.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
a late time of life
From this reading Dr Drummond and Mr Murchison stood together in the store door, over which the sign “John Murchison: Hardware,” had explained thirty years of varying commercial fortune.
Chapter 1 of The Imperialist by Sara Jeannette Duncan holds 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 1 holds 123 sentences of The Imperialist, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Imperialist by Sara Jeannette Duncan exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 123 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 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 Imperialist by Sara Jeannette Duncan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5008 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5301 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5301, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 417 minutes of reading across 1002 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Imperialist section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of The Imperialist 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 Imperialist, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
