Chapter 1 of The Mystery of the Iron Box is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Mystery of the Iron Box is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport. People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field. Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass. “Too jammed up here. Let’s go outside.”
Chapter 1 of The Mystery of the Iron Box is here in full — 305 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/61 · 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.
an airfield equipped with control tower and hangars as well as accommodations for passengers and cargo
From this reading “A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.”
a very loud utterance (like the sound of an animal)
From this reading “A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.”
a document ordering the payment of money; drawn by one person or bank on another
From this reading “A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.”
extremely crowed or filled to capacity
From this reading ““Too jammed up here.”
not taken into account
From this reading “People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.”
kept safe or defended from danger or injury or loss
From this reading “Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.”
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading “Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.”
station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods
From this reading “A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.”
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.
become less in amount or intensity
In this reading “A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.”
In this reading “Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.”
In this reading “Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.”
In this reading “People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.”
In this reading “People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.”
In this reading “Let’s go outside.””
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 COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.
an airfield equipped with control tower and hangars as well as accommodations for passengers and cargo
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
replying
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
a very loud utterance (like the sound of an animal)
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
a document ordering the payment of money; drawn by one person or bank on another
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Let’s go outside.”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Too jammed up here.
the quality of being humane
From this reading Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
extremely crowed or filled to capacity
From this reading “Too jammed up here.
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Let’s go outside.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading Let’s go outside.”
not taken into account
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
extremely crowed or filled to capacity
From this reading Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
kept safe or defended from danger or injury or loss
From this reading Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.
in the near future
From this reading Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.
move an implement through
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
in or at that place or location
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading “Too jammed up here.
in the direction of
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “Too jammed up here.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Soon there was a thick wall of humanity packed against the rail that protected the glass.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A COLD DRAFT The loud-speaker’s bellow died away and there was an answering stir in the big terminal building of the airport.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading People began to move toward the wide windows that overlooked the landing field.
Chapter 1 of The Mystery of the Iron Box by Bruce Campbell holds 305 sentences, grouped into 61 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 305 sentences of The Mystery of the Iron Box, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Mystery of the Iron Box by Bruce Campbell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 305 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 Mystery of the Iron Box by Bruce Campbell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4866 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48144 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48144, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 974 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mystery of the Iron Box section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Mystery of the Iron Box 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 Mystery of the Iron Box, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
