Chapter 1 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
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.
Come in. Ah! you runagate!” The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive. They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own. A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
Chapter 1 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 25/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 121–125
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.
lacking funds
From this reading “The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.”
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading “A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.”
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading “The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.”
any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears
From this reading “The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.”
a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it
From this reading “A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.”
lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center
From this reading “A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.”
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading “A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.”
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 They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
later than; following
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah! you runagate!”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
lacking funds
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
past form of “climb” — go upward with gradual or continuous progress
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come in.
having the color of fresh cream
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Come in.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
and nothing more
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
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 A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
on one occasion
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah! you runagate!”
lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They entered the hall--just such a high light hall as such a house should own.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hound broke from him, and he tottered after him down the drive.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
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 A slim-balustered staircase, wide and shallow and once creamy-white, climbed out of it under a long oval window.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Ah! you runagate!”
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.
