Chapter 17 of The Spruce Street Tragedy is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The Spruce Street Tragedy is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JIM TAYLOR IS ARRESTED. Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett. "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief. "There are three places that must be shadowed instantly. "What places are they?" asked his friend.
Chapter 17 of The Spruce Street Tragedy is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
past form of “arrest” — take into custody
From this reading “JIM TAYLOR IS ARRESTED.”
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading “Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading “"There are three places that must be shadowed instantly.”
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading “Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.”
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading “"Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.”
filled with shade
From this reading “"There are three places that must be shadowed instantly.”
comparative of “spic” — completely neat and clean
From this reading “Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.”
United States composer and music critic (1885-1966)
From this reading “JIM TAYLOR IS ARRESTED.”
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 “"Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.”
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 "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
past form of “arrest” — take into custody
From this reading JIM TAYLOR IS ARRESTED.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What places are they?" asked his friend.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "There are three places that must be shadowed instantly.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "What places are they?" asked his friend.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
only a very short time before
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "What places are they?" asked his friend.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading "There are three places that must be shadowed instantly.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading JIM TAYLOR IS ARRESTED.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JIM TAYLOR IS ARRESTED.
of or relating to two people who are married to each other
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "There are three places that must be shadowed instantly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "There are three places that must be shadowed instantly.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
filled with shade
From this reading "There are three places that must be shadowed instantly.
comparative of “spic” — completely neat and clean
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
United States composer and music critic (1885-1966)
From this reading JIM TAYLOR IS ARRESTED.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "There are three places that must be shadowed instantly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "There are three places that must be shadowed instantly.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "What places are they?" asked his friend.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading "There are three places that must be shadowed instantly.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What places are they?" asked his friend.
at the time that
From this reading Old Spicer had hardly left the building when he was joined by Killett.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Thank fortune you are here!" he exclaimed in a tone of relief.
Chapter 17 of The Spruce Street Tragedy by Norman L. [Publisher] Munro holds 127 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 17 holds 127 sentences of The Spruce Street Tragedy, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The Spruce Street Tragedy by Norman L. [Publisher] Munro exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 127 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 17 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 Spruce Street Tragedy by Norman L. [Publisher] Munro on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3839 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46523 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46523, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 319 minutes of reading across 768 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Spruce Street Tragedy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Spruce Street Tragedy 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 Spruce Street Tragedy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
