Chapter 4 of The Radio Detectives is here in full — 276 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Radio Detectives is here in full — 276 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about. “Hurrah!” he shouted. “This _is_ great! We’re real detectives and working for Uncle Sam!” “Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.
Chapter 4 of The Radio Detectives is here in full — 276 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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.
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading “THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.”
jump about playfully
From this reading “THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.”
past form of “caution” — warn strongly; put on guard
From this reading ““Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.”
past form of “commence” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.”
plural of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “We’re real detectives and working for Uncle Sam!””
a victory cheer
From this reading ““Hurrah!” he shouted.”
an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
From this reading ““Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.”
to an extreme or greatly exaggerated degree
From this reading “THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.”
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.
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 THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.
jump about playfully
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
past form of “caution” — warn strongly; put on guard
From this reading “Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
past form of “commence” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
an artistic form of nonverbal communication
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
plural of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading We’re real detectives and working for Uncle Sam!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
cause to move by pulling
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading We’re real detectives and working for Uncle Sam!”
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading “This _is_ great!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
only a very short time before
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Hurrah!” he shouted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
a victory cheer
From this reading “Hurrah!” he shouted.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “This _is_ great!
engage in
From this reading “Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.
a form of address for a man
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading We’re real detectives and working for Uncle Sam!”
an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
From this reading “Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading We’re real detectives and working for Uncle Sam!”
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “Hurrah!” he shouted.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “This _is_ great!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
male cat
From this reading “Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading We’re real detectives and working for Uncle Sam!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We’re real detectives and working for Uncle Sam!”
to an extreme or greatly exaggerated degree
From this reading THE BOYS DRAW A BLANK Hardly had the door to Mr. Henderson’s office closed behind them before Frank commenced to dance and caper wildly about.
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading We’re real detectives and working for Uncle Sam!”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, but don’t make such a row,” cautioned Tom.
Chapter 4 of The Radio Detectives by A. Hyatt (Alpheus Hyatt) Verrill holds 276 sentences, grouped into 56 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 4 holds 276 sentences of The Radio Detectives, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Radio Detectives by A. Hyatt (Alpheus Hyatt) Verrill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 276 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 4 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 Radio Detectives by A. Hyatt (Alpheus Hyatt) Verrill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2687 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39576 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39576, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 223 minutes of reading across 538 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Radio Detectives section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Radio Detectives 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 Radio Detectives, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
