Chapter 1 of The Riddle of the Purple Emperor is here in full — 13 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Riddle of the Purple Emperor is here in full — 13 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman." SUPERINTENDENT NARKOM, of Scotland Yard. LENNARD, his chauffeur. HAMMOND } Detective Sergeants. PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.
Chapter 1 of The Riddle of the Purple Emperor is here in full — 13 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/2 · 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.
a man paid to drive a privately owned car
From this reading “LENNARD, his chauffeur.”
a widely used search engine that uses text-matching techniques to find web pages that are important and relevant to a user's search
From this reading “See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."”
United States musician who was the first to use the vibraphone as a jazz instrument (1913-2002)
From this reading “PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.”
a protocol (utilizing TCP) to transfer hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers
From this reading “See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."”
Canadian explorer (born in England) who explored the Mackenzie River and who was first to cross North America by land north of Mexico (1764-1820)
From this reading “See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."”
United States biochemist (born in England) honored for his discovery that some genes contain introns (born in 1943)
From this reading “PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.”
plural of “sergeant” — any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading “HAMMOND } Detective Sergeants.”
a sudden or mysterious disappearance
From this reading “See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."”
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.
a member of a police force
In this reading “PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.”
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 See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
a man paid to drive a privately owned car
From this reading LENNARD, his chauffeur.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
a lawman with less authority and jurisdiction than a sheriff
From this reading PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.
a thief who breaks open safes to steal valuable contents
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading HAMMOND } Detective Sergeants.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
being ten more than thirty
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
a widely used search engine that uses text-matching techniques to find web pages that are important and relevant to a user's search
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
Irish mathematician (1806-1865)
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HAMMOND } Detective Sergeants.
United States musician who was the first to use the vibraphone as a jazz instrument (1913-2002)
From this reading PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading LENNARD, his chauffeur.
a protocol (utilizing TCP) to transfer hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
a state in the Rocky Mountains
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
apprehended with certainty
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LENNARD, his chauffeur.
Canadian explorer (born in England) who explored the Mackenzie River and who was first to cross North America by land north of Mexico (1764-1820)
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SUPERINTENDENT NARKOM, of Scotland Yard.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.
on one occasion
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
United States biochemist (born in England) honored for his discovery that some genes contain introns (born in 1943)
From this reading PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.
one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; located on the northern part of the island of Great Britain; famous for bagpipes and plaids and kilts
From this reading SUPERINTENDENT NARKOM, of Scotland Yard.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
plural of “sergeant” — any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading HAMMOND } Detective Sergeants.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
a person who directs and manages an organization
From this reading SUPERINTENDENT NARKOM, of Scotland Yard.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
a sudden or mysterious disappearance
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading PETRIE } CONSTABLE ROBERTS, Police Officer at Hampton Village.
computer network consisting of a collection of internet sites that offer text and graphics and sound and animation resources through the hypertext transfer protocol
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading SUPERINTENDENT NARKOM, of Scotland Yard.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading See http://www.google.com/books?id=mrAgAAAAMAAJ McKinlay, Stone & Mackenzie New York HAMILTON CLEEK, the Man of Forty Faces, and once known to the police as "The Vanishing Cracksman."
Chapter 1 of The Riddle of the Purple Emperor by Mary E. Hanshew holds 13 sentences, grouped into 3 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 13 sentences of The Riddle of the Purple Emperor, unabridged, divided into 3 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Riddle of the Purple Emperor by Mary E. Hanshew exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 13 sentences, grouped into 3 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 3 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 3 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 Riddle of the Purple Emperor by Mary E. Hanshew on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3765 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43135 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43135, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 313 minutes of reading across 753 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Riddle of the Purple Emperor section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Riddle of the Purple Emperor 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 Riddle of the Purple Emperor, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
