Chapter 1 of The Shadow Passes: A Mystery Story for Boys is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Shadow Passes: A Mystery Story for Boys is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.” The speaker’s eyes appeared to snap. Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair. “It glided through the fog without a sound.” The voice droned on, “Not a sound, mind you!
Chapter 1 of The Shadow Passes: A Mystery Story for Boys is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
largest city in Illinois; a bustling Great Lakes port that extends 26 miles along the southwestern shoreline of Lake Michigan
From this reading “The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.””
past form of “drone” — make a monotonous low dull sound
From this reading “The voice droned on, “Not a sound, mind you!”
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading ““It glided through the fog without a sound.””
past form of “glide” — move smoothly and effortlessly
From this reading ““It glided through the fog without a sound.””
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading “Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair.”
utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “The speaker’s eyes appeared to snap.”
possessive form of “speaker” — someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
United States classical archaeologist (born in Canada) noted for leading the excavation of the Athenian agora (1906-2000)
From this reading “Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair.”
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 “Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair.”
In this reading ““It glided through the fog without a sound.””
In this reading ““It glided through the fog without a sound.””
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 “It glided through the fog without a sound.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The speaker’s eyes appeared to snap.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair.
largest city in Illinois; a bustling Great Lakes port that extends 26 miles along the southwestern shoreline of Lake Michigan
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
past form of “drone” — make a monotonous low dull sound
From this reading The voice droned on, “Not a sound, mind you!
opinion or judgment
From this reading The speaker’s eyes appeared to snap.
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading “It glided through the fog without a sound.”
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair.
past form of “glide” — move smoothly and effortlessly
From this reading “It glided through the fog without a sound.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair.
United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading The voice droned on, “Not a sound, mind you!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The voice droned on, “Not a sound, mind you!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The voice droned on, “Not a sound, mind you!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
cut with a saw
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading The speaker’s eyes appeared to snap.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading “It glided through the fog without a sound.”
possessive form of “speaker” — someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading The speaker’s eyes appeared to snap.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The Reilly & Lee Co. Chicago “And then I saw it—the Shadow.”
United States classical archaeologist (born in Canada) noted for leading the excavation of the Athenian agora (1906-2000)
From this reading Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading “It glided through the fog without a sound.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The speaker’s eyes appeared to snap.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading The voice droned on, “Not a sound, mind you!
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading “It glided through the fog without a sound.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading The voice droned on, “Not a sound, mind you!
Chapter 1 of The Shadow Passes: A Mystery Story for Boys by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell holds 392 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.
Chapter 1 holds 392 sentences of The Shadow Passes: A Mystery Story for Boys, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Shadow Passes: A Mystery Story for Boys by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 392 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.
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.
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 Shadow Passes: A Mystery Story for Boys by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3956 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44352 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44352, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 329 minutes of reading across 792 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Shadow Passes: A Mystery Story for Boys section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Shadow Passes: A Mystery Story for Boys 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 Shadow Passes: A Mystery Story for Boys, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
