Chapter 1 of The Spoilers of the Valley is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Spoilers of the Valley is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Eileen's heart stopped beating. The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face. He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion. "Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?" "Why?
Chapter 1 of The Spoilers of the Valley is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 30/31 · 5 reading units · Lines 146–150
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.
an ignorant or foolish person
From this reading “"Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?"”
the liquid part that can be extracted from plant or animal tissue by squeezing or cooking
From this reading “He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.”
either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading “He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.”
come down like raindrops
From this reading “He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.”
a kitchen appliance used for cooking food
From this reading “He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.”
final or last in your life or progress
From this reading “The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.”
leaves of the tobacco plant dried and prepared for smoking or ingestion
From this reading “He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.”
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading “"Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?"”
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.
saliva colored brown by tobacco (snuff or chewing tobacco)
In this reading “He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.”
In this reading “The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.”
In this reading “Eileen's heart stopped beating.”
In this reading “The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.”
communicate the intended meaning or impression
In this reading “The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.”
hold a review (of troops)
In this reading “He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.”
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 detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
the act of overcoming or outdoing
From this reading Eileen's heart stopped beating.
an ignorant or foolish person
From this reading "Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?"
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading "Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?"
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Eileen's heart stopped beating.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
start firing a weapon
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Eileen's heart stopped beating.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?"
the liquid part that can be extracted from plant or animal tissue by squeezing or cooking
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
held up in the air
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?"
above and across; more than
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
express in words
From this reading "Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?"
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
come down like raindrops
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading Eileen's heart stopped beating.
a kitchen appliance used for cooking food
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
final or last in your life or progress
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
leaves of the tobacco plant dried and prepared for smoking or ingestion
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading "Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?"
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He lifted the lid of the stove and spat some tobacco juice into the fire, then he went over to his companion.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why?
in the company of; together with
From this reading The detective at the door came over with a look of supreme contempt on his face.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Say, Jim!--are you a detective or a country boob on his vacation?"
Chapter 1 of The Spoilers of the Valley by Robert Watson holds 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 158 sentences of The Spoilers of the Valley, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Spoilers of the Valley by Robert Watson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 Spoilers of the Valley by Robert Watson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7776 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29588 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29588, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1556 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Spoilers of the Valley section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Spoilers of the Valley 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 Spoilers of the Valley, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
