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.
“This is like all England,” she said at last. “Wonderful, but no explanation. You're expected to know it beforehand. Now, let's try upstairs.” The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.
Chapter 1 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 28/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 136–140
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.
being ahead of time or need
From this reading “You're expected to know it beforehand.”
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading “The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.”
past form of “creak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading “The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.”
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading “You're expected to know it beforehand.”
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.
From this reading ““Wonderful, but no explanation.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.”
on a floor above
From this reading “Now, let's try upstairs.””
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading ““Wonderful, but no explanation.”
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.
(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 “This is like all England,” she said at last.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “This is like all England,” she said at last.
being ahead of time or need
From this reading You're expected to know it beforehand.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Wonderful, but no explanation.
past form of “creak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading “This is like all England,” she said at last.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading You're expected to know it beforehand.
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.
From this reading “Wonderful, but no explanation.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “This is like all England,” she said at last.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You're expected to know it beforehand.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You're expected to know it beforehand.
immediately past
From this reading “This is like all England,” she said at last.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now, let's try upstairs.”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “This is like all England,” she said at last.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.
not any; not one
From this reading “Wonderful, but no explanation.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, let's try upstairs.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “This is like all England,” she said at last.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “This is like all England,” she said at last.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The stairs never creaked beneath their feet.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “This is like all England,” she said at last.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You're expected to know it beforehand.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading Now, let's try upstairs.”
on a floor above
From this reading Now, let's try upstairs.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “Wonderful, but no explanation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're expected to know it beforehand.
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.
