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.
Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.” “Here?” Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof. “Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such. In London they died.”
Chapter 1 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 36/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 176–180
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.
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading “Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.”
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.””
plural of “die” — a small cube with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers
From this reading ““Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.”
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading ““Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.”
an opening into or through something
From this reading “Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.”
plural of “rick” — a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading ““Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.”
a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
From this reading “Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.”
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 moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
Directly under; in or to a lower position than.
From this reading Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
plural of “die” — a small cube with 1 to 6 spots on the six faces; used in gambling to generate random numbers
From this reading “Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading “Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
an opening into or through something
From this reading Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading In London they died.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.
not one, and not any
From this reading “Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.
plural of “rick” — a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading “Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.
a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
From this reading Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “Nah--none dies here excep' falling off ricks and such.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Sophie moved beneath the light of a hole in the roof.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Time was they'd ha' lived here theyselves, but they took and died.”
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.
