Chapter 1 of A Question is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Question is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE HOUSE-KEEPER AND THE STEWARD. "Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you! Haven't I put my lamp out long ago? Doesn't the fire on the hearth give light enough? Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
Chapter 1 of A Question is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
with brightness
From this reading “Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?”
half asleep
From this reading “Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?”
an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
From this reading “Doesn't the fire on the hearth give light enough?”
an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading “Haven't I put my lamp out long ago?”
A viscous liquid derived from petroleum or plants, stored in large earthen jars.
From this reading “"Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!”
a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
From this reading “"Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!”
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading “Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?”
someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else
From this reading “THE HOUSE-KEEPER AND THE STEWARD.”
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.
in the past
From this reading Haven't I put my lamp out long ago?
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE HOUSE-KEEPER AND THE STEWARD.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
with brightness
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
the first light of day
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Doesn't the fire on the hearth give light enough?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
half asleep
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading Doesn't the fire on the hearth give light enough?
opinion or judgment
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
start firing a weapon
From this reading Doesn't the fire on the hearth give light enough?
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Doesn't the fire on the hearth give light enough?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Haven't I put my lamp out long ago?
an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
From this reading Doesn't the fire on the hearth give light enough?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE HOUSE-KEEPER AND THE STEWARD.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Haven't I put my lamp out long ago?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!
an artificial source of visible illumination
From this reading Haven't I put my lamp out long ago?
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Doesn't the fire on the hearth give light enough?
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 Haven't I put my lamp out long ago?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Haven't I put my lamp out long ago?
A viscous liquid derived from petroleum or plants, stored in large earthen jars.
From this reading "Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Doesn't the fire on the hearth give light enough?
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Haven't I put my lamp out long ago?
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Haven't I put my lamp out long ago?
a compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (or a radical that acts like a metal)
From this reading "Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!
Identical; not different.
From this reading "Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else
From this reading THE HOUSE-KEEPER AND THE STEWARD.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE HOUSE-KEEPER AND THE STEWARD.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Salt sea-water or oil, it's all the same to you!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Are your eyes so drowsy that they don't see the dawn shining in upon us more and more brightly?
Chapter 1 of A Question by Georg Ebers holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 202 sentences of A Question, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Question by Georg Ebers exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 A Question by Georg Ebers on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 934 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5588 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5588, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 77 minutes of reading across 187 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Question section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of A Question 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 A Question, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
