Chapter 1 of Whispering Wires is here in full — 404 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 Whispering Wires is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Twelve-forty-five," he announced. "Wish I'd brought a pint along. I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick." "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?" "No!
Chapter 1 of Whispering Wires is here in full — 404 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.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading “"Wish I'd brought a pint along.”
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “"Twelve-forty-five," he announced.”
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading “"Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"”
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading “I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."”
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading “"Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"”
a British imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 4 gills or 568.26 cubic centimeters
From this reading “"Wish I'd brought a pint along.”
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading “I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."”
hope for; have a wish
From this reading “"Wish I'd brought a pint along.”
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.
appear or become visible; make a showing
In this reading “I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."”
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 "Wish I'd brought a pint along.
later than; following
From this reading "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading "Wish I'd brought a pint along.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading "Twelve-forty-five," he announced.
any thing at all
From this reading "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading "Wish I'd brought a pint along.
obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Twelve-forty-five," he announced.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Wish I'd brought a pint along.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
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 "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"
not any; not one
From this reading "No!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
a British imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 4 gills or 568.26 cubic centimeters
From this reading "Wish I'd brought a pint along.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Did she buy anything--or do anything, after the officer left her?"
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Twelve-forty-five," he announced.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading "Wish I'd brought a pint along.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I would have, if the dame hadn't come out of the drug-store so quick."
Chapter 1 of Whispering Wires by Henry Leverage holds 404 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 404 sentences of Whispering Wires, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Whispering Wires by Henry Leverage exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 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 Whispering Wires by Henry Leverage on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6089 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34046 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34046, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 507 minutes of reading across 1218 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Whispering Wires section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Whispering Wires 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 Whispering Wires, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
