Chapter 1 of Two Wonderful Detectives is here in full — 97 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Two Wonderful Detectives is here in full — 97 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL. By OLD SLEUTH. NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET. "That is my name, sir." An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
Chapter 1 of Two Wonderful Detectives is here in full — 97 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
plural of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.”
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading “An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.”
being directly across from each other; facing
From this reading “An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.”
the business of issuing printed matter for sale or distribution
From this reading “NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.”
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading “An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.”
an ability that has been acquired by training
From this reading “Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.”
a detective who follows a trail
From this reading “By OLD SLEUTH.”
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.
a teenager or a young adult male
In this reading “An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.”
In this reading “An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.”
In this reading “An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.”
In this reading “An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By OLD SLEUTH.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.
plural of “detective” — a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "That is my name, sir."
a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
From this reading NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.
a small worthless amount
From this reading Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "That is my name, sir."
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "That is my name, sir."
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading By OLD SLEUTH.
being directly across from each other; facing
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.
the business of issuing printed matter for sale or distribution
From this reading NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
term of address for a man
From this reading "That is my name, sir."
an ability that has been acquired by training
From this reading Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.
a detective who follows a trail
From this reading By OLD SLEUTH.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That is my name, sir."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading Two Wonderful Detectives; OR JACK AND GIL'S MARVELOUS SKILL.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading NEW YORK: J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 57 ROSE STREET.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading An elderly man was seated at a table and a young man stood opposite to him.
Chapter 1 of Two Wonderful Detectives by Old Sleuth holds 97 sentences, grouped into 20 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 97 sentences of Two Wonderful Detectives, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Two Wonderful Detectives by Old Sleuth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 97 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 Two Wonderful Detectives by Old Sleuth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1502 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26155 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26155, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 125 minutes of reading across 301 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Two Wonderful Detectives section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Two Wonderful Detectives 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 Two Wonderful Detectives, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
