Chapter XI of Will Somers, the Boy Detective, “In the Cellar,” is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter XI of Will Somers, the Boy Detective, “In the Cellar,” is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment. They were followed by Mr. Wilson. The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room. “You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked. “Not our most valuable.”
Chapter XI of Will Somers, the Boy Detective, “In the Cellar,” is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading “Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.”
the act of forming or establishing something
From this reading “Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.”
plural of “good” — benefit
From this reading ““You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.”
United States writer of thrillers (born in 1925)
From this reading “Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.”
the act of physically reaching or thrusting out
From this reading “The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.”
having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange
From this reading ““You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.”
someone who visits
From this reading “Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.”
author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870)
From this reading “They were followed by Mr. Wilson.”
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 ““Not our most valuable.””
In this reading “The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.”
In this reading “They were followed by Mr. Wilson.”
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 officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.
the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading They were followed by Mr. Wilson.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading “You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.
the act of forming or establishing something
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading They were followed by Mr. Wilson.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
plural of “good” — benefit
From this reading “You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.
United States writer of thrillers (born in 1925)
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
used to form the superlative
From this reading “Not our most valuable.”
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Not our most valuable.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading “Not our most valuable.”
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
past form of “proceed” — continue talking
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
the act of physically reaching or thrusting out
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were followed by Mr. Wilson.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange
From this reading “You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading The officer paused on reaching the foot of the stairs, and took a general view of the long room.
someone who visits
From this reading Mr. Leonard and his visitor proceeded together to the basement of the establishment.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were followed by Mr. Wilson.
author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870)
From this reading They were followed by Mr. Wilson.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You keep some valuable goods down here?” he asked.
Chapter 11 of Will Somers, the Boy Detective by Charles Morris holds 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 11 holds 150 sentences of Will Somers, the Boy Detective, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Will Somers, the Boy Detective by Charles Morris exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 11 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 Will Somers, the Boy Detective by Charles Morris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3514 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60978 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60978, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 292 minutes of reading across 703 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Will Somers, the Boy Detective section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Will Somers, the Boy Detective 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 Will Somers, the Boy Detective, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
