Chapter 1 of The Sixty-First Second is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Sixty-First Second is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUTHOR OF "STOVER AT YALE," ETC. "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour. There’s nothing to do but wait’" .
Chapter 1 of The Sixty-First Second is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "STOVER AT YALE," ETC.”
plural of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “"’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.”
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading “"’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.”
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading “"’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.”
the dried stalks and leaves of a field crop (especially corn) used as animal fodder after the grain has been harvested
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "STOVER AT YALE," ETC.”
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “There’s nothing to do but wait’" .”
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading “"’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.”
a university in Connecticut
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "STOVER AT YALE," ETC.”
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 "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AUTHOR OF "STOVER AT YALE," ETC.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "STOVER AT YALE," ETC.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There’s nothing to do but wait’" .
plural of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading There’s nothing to do but wait’" .
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "STOVER AT YALE," ETC.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There’s nothing to do but wait’" .
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF "STOVER AT YALE," ETC.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
the dried stalks and leaves of a field crop (especially corn) used as animal fodder after the grain has been harvested
From this reading AUTHOR OF "STOVER AT YALE," ETC.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There’s nothing to do but wait’" .
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There’s nothing to do but wait’" .
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading There’s nothing to do but wait’" .
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading "’I shall have the detectives here—a man and a woman—within half an hour.
a university in Connecticut
From this reading AUTHOR OF "STOVER AT YALE," ETC.
Chapter 1 of The Sixty-First Second by Owen Johnson holds 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 402 sentences of The Sixty-First Second, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Sixty-First Second by Owen Johnson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Sixty-First Second by Owen Johnson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6393 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37113 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37113, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 532 minutes of reading across 1279 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sixty-First Second section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of The Sixty-First Second 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 Sixty-First Second, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
