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.
They followed him down the main stairway. He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall. “Plenty room here for your coffin to come down. Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint. If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
Chapter 1 of Actions and reactions is here in full — 213 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 39/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 191–195
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.
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading ““Plenty room here for your coffin to come down.”
most important element
From this reading “They followed him down the main stairway.”
make a painting
From this reading “Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.”
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading “He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.”
a full supply
From this reading ““Plenty room here for your coffin to come down.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading “Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.”
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading “They followed him down the main stairway.”
possessing sweep
From this reading “He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.”
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 If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading “Plenty room here for your coffin to come down.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Plenty room here for your coffin to come down.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading They followed him down the main stairway.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading They followed him down the main stairway.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Plenty room here for your coffin to come down.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Plenty room here for your coffin to come down.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They followed him down the main stairway.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
most important element
From this reading They followed him down the main stairway.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
the force of workers available
From this reading Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.
make a painting
From this reading Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.
a full supply
From this reading “Plenty room here for your coffin to come down.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading “Plenty room here for your coffin to come down.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading They followed him down the main stairway.
possessing sweep
From this reading He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They followed him down the main stairway.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They followed him down the main stairway.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Plenty room here for your coffin to come down.
in the direction of
From this reading He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I die in my bed they'll 'ave to up-end me like a milk-can.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading He paused at the turn and swept one hand toward the wall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Seven foot and three men at each end wouldn't brish the paint.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Plenty room here for your coffin to come down.
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.
