Chapter 1 of The Secret Toll is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Secret Toll is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent! I’ll die first!" "You very likely will. Others have.
Chapter 1 of The Secret Toll is here in full — 130 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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A collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people.
From this reading “generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries”
plural of “author” — writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service
From this reading “generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries”
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “_Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!”
in a generous manner
From this reading “generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries”
a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
From this reading “generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries”
plural of “library” — a room where books are kept
From this reading “generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries”
Irish playwright remembered for his satirical comedies of manners (1751-1816)
From this reading “_Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!”
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.
lose (s.th.) or lose the right to (s.th.) by some error, offense, or crime
In this reading “_Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!”
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 _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries
A collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people.
From this reading generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries
plural of “author” — writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service
From this reading generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries
showing who or what does the action
From this reading generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries
a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading I’ll die first!"
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading I’ll die first!"
in a generous manner
From this reading generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Others have.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I’ll die first!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
From this reading generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries
plural of “library” — a room where books are kept
From this reading generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading "You very likely will.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Others have.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
Irish playwright remembered for his satirical comedies of manners (1751-1816)
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading _Authors of "The Sheridan Road Mystery"_ "I’m damned if I give up a cent!
precisely as stated
From this reading "You very likely will.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "You very likely will.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You very likely will.
Chapter 1 of The Secret Toll by Paul Thorne holds 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 130 sentences of The Secret Toll, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Secret Toll by Paul Thorne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 130 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Secret Toll by Paul Thorne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3153 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37378 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37378, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 262 minutes of reading across 631 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Toll section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Secret Toll 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 Secret Toll, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
