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.
“Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose! But I can see a bit of the mantelpiece. George, do come! Isn't that some one?” She fell back behind her husband.
Chapter 1 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 22/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 106–110
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.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading “She fell back behind her husband.”
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading “But I can see a bit of the mantelpiece.”
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading “She fell back behind her husband.”
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading “George, do come!”
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading “She fell back behind her husband.”
possessive form of “room” — an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading ““Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!”
express a supposition
From this reading ““Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!”
a fabric made from the hair of sheep
From this reading ““Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!”
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 But I can see a bit of the mantelpiece.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading She fell back behind her husband.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading She fell back behind her husband.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading But I can see a bit of the mantelpiece.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I can see a bit of the mantelpiece.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading But I can see a bit of the mantelpiece.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading George, do come!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading George, do come!
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading She fell back behind her husband.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading George, do come!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She fell back behind her husband.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading She fell back behind her husband.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Isn't that some one?”
shelf that projects from wall above fireplace
From this reading But I can see a bit of the mantelpiece.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Isn't that some one?”
possessive form of “room” — an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading “Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading But I can see a bit of the mantelpiece.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She fell back behind her husband.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Isn't that some one?”
express a supposition
From this reading “Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Isn't that some one?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But I can see a bit of the mantelpiece.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!
a fabric made from the hair of sheep
From this reading “Oh, this room's half-full of cotton-bales--wool, I suppose!
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.
