Chapter 1 of The Motormaniacs is here in full — 504 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Motormaniacs is here in full — 504 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It's too late," he returned. "I've got the automobile fever now myself. For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family." Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know. He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
Chapter 1 of The Motormaniacs is here in full — 504 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 90/100 · 5 reading units · Lines 446–450
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 motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading “"I've got the automobile fever now myself.”
general term for any insect or similar creeping or crawling invertebrate
From this reading “For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."”
plural of “cent” — a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading “For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."”
a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection
From this reading “"I've got the automobile fever now myself.”
Clever, original, and remarkably inventive in design and execution.
From this reading “Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.”
A period of prolonged and intensive questioning or investigation.
From this reading “He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.”
the Romance language spoken in most of Spain and the countries colonized by Spain
From this reading “He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.”
plural of “torment” — unbearable physical pain
From this reading “He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.”
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 For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
any person at all
From this reading Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading "I've got the automobile fever now myself.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
general term for any insect or similar creeping or crawling invertebrate
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
plural of “cent” — a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.
a social unit living together
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection
From this reading "I've got the automobile fever now myself.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "I've got the automobile fever now myself.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It's too late," he returned.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I've got the automobile fever now myself.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
Clever, original, and remarkably inventive in design and execution.
From this reading Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.
A period of prolonged and intensive questioning or investigation.
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's too late," he returned.
and nothing more
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading "It's too late," he returned.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading "I've got the automobile fever now myself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "I've got the automobile fever now myself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading Certainly pa has the most ingenious mind of anybody I know.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading "It's too late," he returned.
the Romance language spoken in most of Spain and the countries colonized by Spain
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I've got the automobile fever now myself.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "It's too late," he returned.
plural of “torment” — unbearable physical pain
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading For two cents I'd buy out Harry and Nelly and keep the red bug in the family."
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He ought to have been in the Spanish Inquisition just to think up new torments.
Chapter 1 of The Motormaniacs by Lloyd Osbourne holds 504 sentences, grouped into 101 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 504 sentences of The Motormaniacs, unabridged, divided into 101 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Motormaniacs by Lloyd Osbourne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 504 sentences, grouped into 101 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 101 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 101 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 Motormaniacs by Lloyd Osbourne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1963 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5626 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5626, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 163 minutes of reading across 393 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Motormaniacs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Motormaniacs 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 Motormaniacs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
