Chapter 11 of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"And I have some business to do which will take some hours. This business at Saxe-Coburg Square is serious." "Why serious?" "A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
Chapter 11 of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English is here in full — 204 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.
large or relatively large in number or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “"A considerable crime is in contemplation.”
a long and thoughtful observation
From this reading “"A considerable crime is in contemplation.”
(criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
From this reading “"A considerable crime is in contemplation.”
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading “"And I have some business to do which will take some hours.”
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading “I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.”
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading “This business at Saxe-Coburg Square is serious."”
make square
From this reading “This business at Saxe-Coburg Square is serious."”
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.”
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 "A considerable crime is in contemplation.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading This business at Saxe-Coburg Square is serious."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
large or relatively large in number or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "A considerable crime is in contemplation.
a long and thoughtful observation
From this reading "A considerable crime is in contemplation.
(criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
From this reading "A considerable crime is in contemplation.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "A considerable crime is in contemplation.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This business at Saxe-Coburg Square is serious."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This business at Saxe-Coburg Square is serious."
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading This business at Saxe-Coburg Square is serious."
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
make square
From this reading This business at Saxe-Coburg Square is serious."
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
carry out
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This business at Saxe-Coburg Square is serious."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why serious?"
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "And I have some business to do which will take some hours.
Chapter 11 of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English by Julian [Editor] Hawthorne holds 204 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 11 holds 204 sentences of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 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 204 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 11 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 Lock and Key Library — Modern English by Julian [Editor] Hawthorne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8025 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2038 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2038, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1605 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Lock and Key Library — Modern English section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Lock and Key Library — Modern English 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 Lock and Key Library — Modern English, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
