Chapter 1 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She curtsied again. The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights. It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild. “I must look!” Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.
Chapter 1 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 21/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 101–105
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.
having the pinkish flush of health
From this reading “It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.”
plural of “generation” — all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age
From this reading “It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.”
a child of your son or daughter
From this reading “It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.”
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading “The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights.”
protected from heat and light with shade or shadow
From this reading “Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.”
the rays of the sun
From this reading “The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights.”
past form of “tiptoe” — walk on one's toes
From this reading “Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.”
past form of “twinkle” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights.”
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 Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.
anew
From this reading She curtsied again.
(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 The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She curtsied again.
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
undergo or live through a difficult experience
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.
having the pinkish flush of health
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
plural of “generation” — all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
a child of your son or daughter
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I must look!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights.
hear with intention
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading “I must look!”
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “I must look!”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
protected from heat and light with shade or shadow
From this reading Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She curtsied again.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.
the rays of the sun
From this reading The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
past form of “tiptoe” — walk on one's toes
From this reading Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
past form of “twinkle” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading The June sunshine twinkled on all the lights.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading It was as though an old lady, wise in three generations' experience, but for the present sitting out, bent to listen to her flushed and eager grandchild.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Sophie tiptoed to a window, and shaded her eyes with her hand.
Chapter 1 of Actions and reactions by Rudyard Kipling holds 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 213 sentences of Actions and reactions, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Actions and reactions by Rudyard Kipling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 213 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 Actions and reactions by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4931 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2381 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2381, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 410 minutes of reading across 987 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Actions and reactions section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Actions and reactions 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 Actions and reactions, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
