Chapter 15 of The Old Tobacco Shop is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Old Tobacco Shop is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning. He was cramped and stiff. He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms. He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement. "Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.
Chapter 15 of The Old Tobacco Shop is here in full — 181 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
to or in a foreign country
From this reading “He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.”
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading “A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.”
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “"Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.”
constricted in size
From this reading “He was cramped and stiff.”
every person
From this reading “"Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.”
hold firmly
From this reading “He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.”
inflected form of “rub” — move over something with pressure
From this reading “He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms.”
not moving or operating freely
From this reading “He was cramped and stiff.”
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 this reading “A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.”
In this reading “A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.”
break down, literally or metaphorically
In this reading “A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.”
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 FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
to or in a foreign country
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was cramped and stiff.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading "Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
past form of “cause” — give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
constricted in size
From this reading He was cramped and stiff.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
every person
From this reading "Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
hold firmly
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was cramped and stiff.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading "Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading "Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
inflected form of “rub” — move over something with pressure
From this reading He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.
not moving or operating freely
From this reading He was cramped and stiff.
successive (without a break)
From this reading He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms.
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Land!" he cried, so loud that everyone awoke.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He sat up straight, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A FALL IN THE DARK Freddie was the first to be awake in the morning.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He looked abroad, and the sight which met him caused him to grasp Aunt Amanda's hand in excitement.
Chapter 15 of The Old Tobacco Shop by William Bowen holds 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 15 holds 181 sentences of The Old Tobacco Shop, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Old Tobacco Shop by William Bowen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 181 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 15 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 Old Tobacco Shop by William Bowen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4345 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26977 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26977, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 362 minutes of reading across 869 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Tobacco Shop section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Old Tobacco Shop 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 Old Tobacco Shop, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
