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The Romance of Gilbert Holmes
The Romance of Gilbert Holmes

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Romance of Gilbert Holmes
Context Illustration Reading 1/78 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.
I. A Sweet Lady II.
Gilbert Holmes’s Account Of Himself III.
The Wreck IV.
Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Romance of Gilbert Holmes

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/78 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.
Line 2
I. A Sweet Lady II.
Line 3
Gilbert Holmes’s Account Of Himself III.
Line 4
The Wreck IV.
Line 5
Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.
/blæk hɔːk ðə sæk kɪŋ viː ðə swɑːθ ʌv ðə ˈhɜːrəkeɪn vaɪ/

Learner Dictionary

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.

carriers noun US /ˈkæriərz/

plural of “carrier” — someone whose employment involves carrying something

From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.”

Hawk noun US /hɔːk/

diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail

From this reading “Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.”

Holmes's noun US /ˈhoʊmzɪz/

possessive form of “holmes” — a fictitious detective in stories by A. Conan Doyle

Hurricane noun US /ˈhɜːrəkeɪn/

a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)

From this reading “Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.”

primitive adjective US /ˈprɪmətɪv/

belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness

From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.”

railways noun US /ˈreɪlweɪz/

plural of “railway” — line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight

From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.”

Sac noun US /sæk/

an enclosed space

From this reading “Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.”

Swath noun US /swɑːθ/

the space created by the swing of a scythe or the cut of a mowing machine

From this reading “Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.”

All words in this reading · 31

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading I. A Sweet Lady II.

AccountnounUS /əˈkaʊnt/

a record or narrative description of past events

From this reading Gilbert Holmes’s Account Of Himself III.

AUTHORnounUS /ˈɔːθər/

writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

BlackadjectiveUS /blæk/

being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light

From this reading Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.

CARRIERSnounUS /ˈkæriərz/

plural of “carrier” — someone whose employment involves carrying something

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

ETC

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

GilbertnounUS /ˈɡɪlbərt/

a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns

From this reading Gilbert Holmes’s Account Of Himself III.

HawknounUS /hɔːk/

diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail

From this reading Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.

HimselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading Gilbert Holmes’s Account Of Himself III.

Holmes'snounUS /ˈhoʊmzɪz/

possessive form of “holmes” — a fictitious detective in stories by A. Conan Doyle

From this reading Gilbert Holmes’s Account Of Himself III.

HurricanenounUS /ˈhɜːrəkeɪn/

a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)

From this reading Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading I. A Sweet Lady II.

IInoun

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

From this reading I. A Sweet Lady II.

IIInoun

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

From this reading Gilbert Holmes’s Account Of Himself III.

INprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

IVnoun

the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one

From this reading The Wreck IV.

KingnounUS /kɪŋ/

a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom

From this reading Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.

LadynounUS /ˈleɪdi/

a polite name for any woman

From this reading I. A Sweet Lady II.

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

PRIMITIVEadjectiveUS /ˈprɪmətɪv/

belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

RAILWAYSnounUS /ˈreɪlweɪz/

plural of “railway” — line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

SacnounUS /sæk/

an enclosed space

From this reading Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.

SCIENCEnounUS /ˈsaɪəns/

a particular branch of scientific knowledge

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

SwathnounUS /swɑːθ/

the space created by the swing of a scythe or the cut of a mowing machine

From this reading Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.

SweetadjectiveUS /swiːt/

having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar

From this reading I. A Sweet Lady II.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

TWELVEnounUS /twelv/

the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

VnounUS /viː/

a unit of potential equal to the potential difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between the two points is 1 watt

From this reading Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.

VInounUS /vaɪ/

the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one

From this reading Black Hawk, the Sac King V. The Swath of the Hurricane VI.

VOLUMESnounUS /ˈvɑːljuːmz/

plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object

From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF RAILWAYS," IN TWELVE VOLUMES, "PRIMITIVE CARRIERS," ETC., ETC.

WrecknounUS /rek/

something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation

From this reading The Wreck IV.

Chapter 1 of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes by Marshall M. (Marshall Monroe) Kirkman holds 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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.

What does chapter 1 of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes contain?

Chapter 1 holds 393 sentences of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes by Marshall M. (Marshall Monroe) Kirkman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes?

Work through the 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 79 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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Romance of Gilbert Holmes

Common questions about reading The Romance of Gilbert Holmes by Marshall M. (Marshall Monroe) Kirkman on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes?

Yes. All 6418 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53006 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #53006, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Romance of Gilbert Holmes take to read?

About 534 minutes of reading across 1284 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Romance of Gilbert Holmes section by section

How to work through The Romance of Gilbert Holmes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

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  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Romance of Gilbert Holmes

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Romance of Gilbert Holmes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Science
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Railways
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Twelve
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Romance of Gilbert Holmes; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.