Chapter 1 of William Adolphus Turnpike is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of William Adolphus Turnpike is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city. Back to the hamlet for you, boy; you're lost. "You're not? You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark? My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.
Chapter 1 of William Adolphus Turnpike is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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.
a theatrical performer
From this reading “My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.”
an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening)
From this reading “J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.”
a community of people smaller than a village
From this reading “Back to the hamlet for you, boy; you're lost.”
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading “J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.”
involving or characteristic of politics or parties or politicians
From this reading “J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.”
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading “My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.”
plural of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading “J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.”
the provincial capital and largest city in Ontario (and the largest city in Canada)
From this reading “J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.”
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 J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
a theatrical performer
From this reading My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark?
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Back to the hamlet for you, boy; you're lost.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
a youthful male person
From this reading Back to the hamlet for you, boy; you're lost.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark?
absence of light or illumination
From this reading You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark?
an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening)
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Back to the hamlet for you, boy; you're lost.
a community of people smaller than a village
From this reading Back to the hamlet for you, boy; you're lost.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.
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 J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark?
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark?
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading Back to the hamlet for you, boy; you're lost.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
a formally arranged gathering
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "You're not?
involving or characteristic of politics or parties or politicians
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.
plural of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Back to the hamlet for you, boy; you're lost.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
the provincial capital and largest city in Ontario (and the largest city in Canada)
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
at the time that
From this reading My, but you're cert'nly the quick actor when it comes to thinking.
in or at the place that
From this reading You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 27 Melinda Street, Toronto "What! never been to a political meeting; an' you living in a city.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Back to the hamlet for you, boy; you're lost.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You know where you live, and could find your way home in the dark?
Chapter 1 of William Adolphus Turnpike by William Banks holds 93 sentences, grouped into 19 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 93 sentences of William Adolphus Turnpike, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of William Adolphus Turnpike by William Banks exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 93 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 William Adolphus Turnpike by William Banks on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2486 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25562 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25562, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 207 minutes of reading across 498 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through William Adolphus Turnpike section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of William Adolphus Turnpike 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 William Adolphus Turnpike, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
