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The Last Crusade
The Last Crusade

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of The Last Crusade is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

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Context Illustration Reading 1/82 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
_It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.
And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.
Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.
"Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.
We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Last Crusade

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of The Last Crusade is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
_It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.
/ɪt wɑːz pɑːrt ʌv ə ˈpɪktʃər ɪn pɑːrt ʌv ə ˈbɪldɪŋ ðæt hæd wʌns bɪn ðə ˈluːvrə/
Line 2
And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.
Line 3
Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.
Line 4
"Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.
Line 5
We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Caesar noun US /ˈsiːzər/

conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC)

From this reading “And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.”

closer adverb US /ˈkloʊsər/

(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance

From this reading “"Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.”

hell noun US /hel/

any place of pain and turmoil

From this reading “"Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.”

Louvre noun US /ˈluːvrə/

an art museum that is a famous tourist attraction in Paris

From this reading “_It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.”

mud noun US /mʌd/

water soaked soil; soft wet earth

From this reading “And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.”

named verb US /neɪmd/

past form of “name” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to

From this reading “And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.”

Sergeant noun US /ˈsɑːrdʒənt/

any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal

From this reading “We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.”

Whitey noun US /ˈwaɪtiː/

(slang) offensive names for a White man

From this reading “And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.”

Word partnerships in these lines

English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.

Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.

in the mud preposition + article + noun counted as “in … mud”

In this reading “We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.”

All words in this reading · 78

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

alsoadverbUS /ˈɔːlsoʊ/

in addition

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

alwaysadverbUS /ˈɔːlweɪz/

at all times; all the time and on every occasion

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

aroundprepositionUS /ərˈaʊnd/

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

backadverbUS /bæk/

in or to or toward a former location

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

bigadjectiveUS /bɪɡ/

above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

buildingnounUS /ˈbɪldɪŋ/

a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

CaesarnounUS /ˈsiːzər/

conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC)

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

callingnounUS /ˈkɔːlɪŋ/

the particular occupation for which you are trained

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

citynounUS /ˈsɪti/

a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

closeradverbUS /ˈkloʊsər/

(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

Coleman

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

doesauxiliary verbUS /dʌz/

the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

gotverbUS /ɡɑːt/

inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

hellnounUS /hel/

any place of pain and turmoil

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

Joe

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

Julius

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

LateradverbUS /ˈleɪtər/

happening at a time subsequent to a reference time

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

leftnounUS /left/

location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

lightadjectiveUS /laɪt/

of comparatively little physical weight or density

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

likeverbUS /laɪk/

prefer or wish to do something

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

listeningnounUS /ˈlɪsənɪŋ/

the act of hearing attentively

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

lostadjectiveUS /lɔːst/

no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

lotnounUS /lɑːt/

(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

LouvrenounUS /ˈluːvrə/

an art museum that is a famous tourist attraction in Paris

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

Lutetia

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

Marty

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

meansnounUS /miːnz/

thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

memorynounUS /ˈmem.ər.i/

The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

mudnounUS /mʌd/

water soaked soil; soft wet earth

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

nameverbUS /neɪm/

assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

namedverbUS /neɪmd/

past form of “name” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

onceadverbUS /wʌns/

on one occasion

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

others

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

Parisiorum

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

Parissii

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

partnounUS /pɑːrt/

something determined in relation to something that includes it

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

peoplenounUS /ˈpiːpəl/

(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

picturenounUS /ˈpɪktʃər/

a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

placenounUS /pleɪs/

a point located with respect to surface features of some region

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

sayingnounUS /ˈseɪɪŋ/

a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

SergeantnounUS /ˈsɑːrdʒənt/

any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

sittingnounUS /ˈsɪtɪŋ/

(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

somewhereadverbUS /ˈsʌmwer/

in or at or to some place

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

sureadjectiveUS /ʃʊr/

having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

talkingnounUS /ˈtɔːkɪŋ/

an exchange of ideas via conversation

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

tellverbUS /tel/

express in words

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

thosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Later on people got around to calling it 'the city of light,'" Marty Coleman was saying.

townnounUS /taʊn/

an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

truthnounUS /truːθ/

a fact that has been verified

From this reading "Well, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading _It was part of a picture in part of a building that had once been the Louvre.

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

WelladverbUS /wel/

(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, Julius was sure as hell a lot closer to the truth than those others," I tell him.

what's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

WhitenounUS /waɪt/

a Caucasian

From this reading We was sitting in the mud in what's left of some big building and me and Joe White was listening to Marty, our Sergeant, talking like he always does.

WhiteynounUS /ˈwaɪtiː/

(slang) offensive names for a White man

From this reading And somewhere back in his lost memory, it was also a name for "Whitey"...._ "Julius Caesar named this place 'Lutetia Parisiorum', which means 'the mud town of the Parissii'.

Chapter 1 of The Last Crusade by George H. (George Henry) Smith holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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.

What does chapter 1 of The Last Crusade contain?

Chapter 1 holds 414 sentences of The Last Crusade, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of The Last Crusade by George H. (George Henry) Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of The Last Crusade?

Work through the 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 83 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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Last Crusade

Common questions about reading The Last Crusade by George H. (George Henry) Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Last Crusade?

Yes. All 414 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59011 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Last Crusade is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #59011, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Last Crusade take to read?

About 34 minutes of reading across 83 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Last Crusade section by section

How to work through The Last Crusade section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Last Crusade to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Last Crusade

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Last Crusade, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Picture
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Last Crusade; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Building
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Last Crusade; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Louvre
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Last Crusade; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Somewhere
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Last Crusade; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.