Chapter XXVII of Working My Way Around the World, “Wandering in Japan,” 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 XXVII
Chapter XXVII of Working My Way Around the World, “Wandering in Japan,” is here in full — 97 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me. “No good,” answered the runner, dropping the shafts. “Sailor Home be close.” However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor. The proprietor, awakened from a doze, gurgled a welcome.
Chapter XXVII of Working My Way Around the World, “Wandering in Japan,” 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.
aroused or activated
From this reading “The proprietor, awakened from a doze, gurgled a welcome.”
(astronomy) an indistinct surface feature of Mars once thought to be a system of channels; they are now believed to be an optical illusion
From this reading “However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor.”
sleep lightly or for a short period of time
From this reading “The proprietor, awakened from a doze, gurgled a welcome.”
maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings)
From this reading “However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor.”
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading “The proprietor, awakened from a doze, gurgled a welcome.”
someone who imports or exports without paying duties
From this reading ““No good,” answered the runner, dropping the shafts.”
plural of “shaft” — a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer
From this reading ““No good,” answered the runner, dropping the shafts.”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading ““Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.”
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.
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 However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “No good,” answered the runner, dropping the shafts.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
aroused or activated
From this reading The proprietor, awakened from a doze, gurgled a welcome.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Sailor Home be close.”
next to; at the side of
From this reading However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor.
(astronomy) an indistinct surface feature of Mars once thought to be a system of channels; they are now believed to be an optical illusion
From this reading However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading “Sailor Home be close.”
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
sleep lightly or for a short period of time
From this reading The proprietor, awakened from a doze, gurgled a welcome.
coming down freely under the influence of gravity
From this reading “No good,” answered the runner, dropping the shafts.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
set up or found
From this reading However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The proprietor, awakened from a doze, gurgled a welcome.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “No good,” answered the runner, dropping the shafts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The proprietor, awakened from a doze, gurgled a welcome.
maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings)
From this reading However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services
From this reading However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading However, I found a hotel beside a canal down near the harbor.
not any; not one
From this reading “No good,” answered the runner, dropping the shafts.
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading The proprietor, awakened from a doze, gurgled a welcome.
reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
a small two-wheeled cart for one passenger; pulled by one person
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
someone who imports or exports without paying duties
From this reading “No good,” answered the runner, dropping the shafts.
any member of a ship's crew
From this reading “Sailor Home be close.”
plural of “sailor” — any member of a ship's crew
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
plural of “shaft” — a line that forms the length of an arrow pointer
From this reading “No good,” answered the runner, dropping the shafts.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Set me down at the Sailors’ Home,” I ordered, stepping into the first ’rickshaw to reach me.
accept gladly
From this reading The proprietor, awakened from a doze, gurgled a welcome.
Chapter 27 of Working My Way Around the World by Harry Alverson Franck 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 27 holds 97 sentences of Working My Way Around the World, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of Working My Way Around the World by Harry Alverson Franck 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 27 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 Working My Way Around the World by Harry Alverson Franck on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5724 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55129 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55129, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 477 minutes of reading across 1145 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Working My Way Around the World section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Working My Way Around the World 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 Working My Way Around the World, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
