Chapter 1 of The Silent Barrier is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Silent Barrier is here in full — 278 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Mail in?" "Yes, sir; just arrived. What name?" "Charles K. Spencer." The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
Chapter 1 of The Silent Barrier is here in full — 278 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.
all the loaves of bread baked at the same time
From this reading “The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.”
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading “"Charles K. Spencer."”
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading “The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.”
communication by the exchange of letters
From this reading “The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.”
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading “"Mail in?"”
moving quickly and lightly
From this reading “The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.”
arranged according to size
From this reading “The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.”
English philosopher and sociologist who applied the theory of natural selection to human societies (1820-1903)
From this reading “"Charles K. Spencer."”
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 letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading "Yes, sir; just arrived.
all the loaves of bread baked at the same time
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading "Charles K. Spencer."
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
communication by the exchange of letters
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Mail in?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
and nothing more
From this reading "Yes, sir; just arrived.
the basic unit of thermodynamic temperature adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading "Charles K. Spencer."
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading "Mail in?"
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading What name?"
moving quickly and lightly
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
past form of “seize” — take hold of; grab
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Yes, sir; just arrived.
arranged according to size
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
English philosopher and sociologist who applied the theory of natural selection to human societies (1820-1903)
From this reading "Charles K. Spencer."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What name?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading The letter clerk seized a batch of correspondence and sorted it with nimble fingers.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, sir; just arrived.
Chapter 1 of The Silent Barrier by Louis Tracy holds 278 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 1 holds 278 sentences of The Silent Barrier, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Silent Barrier by Louis Tracy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 278 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 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 Silent Barrier by Louis Tracy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5716 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31635 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31635, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 476 minutes of reading across 1144 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Silent Barrier section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Silent Barrier 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 Silent Barrier, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
