Chapter 10 of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson? Have you a family?' "I answered that I had not. "His face fell immediately.
Chapter 10 of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
a person who helps people or institutions (especially with financial help)
From this reading “"'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.”
United States dancer and pioneer of modern dance (1878-1927)
From this reading “"'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.”
a reserve of money set aside for some purpose
From this reading “"'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading “"His face fell immediately.”
impressive in appearance
From this reading “"'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.”
plural of “pensioner” — the beneficiary of a pension fund
From this reading “"'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.”
Scottish explorer who led Arctic expeditions that yielded geographic discoveries while searching for the Northwest Passage (1777-1856)
From this reading “"'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.”
author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870)
From this reading “Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson?”
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 Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson?
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "I answered that I had not.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson?
a person who helps people or institutions (especially with financial help)
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
United States dancer and pioneer of modern dance (1878-1927)
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading "His face fell immediately.
a social unit living together
From this reading Have you a family?'
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading "His face fell immediately.
a reserve of money set aside for some purpose
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "I answered that I had not.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have you a family?'
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "His face fell immediately.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading "His face fell immediately.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
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 "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson?
joined in matrimony
From this reading Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson?
a form of address for a man
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
impressive in appearance
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "I answered that I had not.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
plural of “pensioner” — the beneficiary of a pension fund
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
Scottish explorer who led Arctic expeditions that yielded geographic discoveries while searching for the Northwest Passage (1777-1856)
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I answered that I had not.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading "'My name,' said he, 'is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor.
author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870)
From this reading Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson?
Chapter 10 of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English by Julian [Editor] Hawthorne holds 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 10 holds 201 sentences of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English by Julian [Editor] Hawthorne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 10 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.
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About 600 minutes of reading across 1605 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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