Chapter 1 of Almayer's Folly: A Story of an Eastern River is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Almayer's Folly: A Story of an Eastern River is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Kaspar! Makan!" The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour. An unpleasant voice too. He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
Chapter 1 of Almayer's Folly: A Story of an Eastern River is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading “The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.”
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading “He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.”
plural of “reality” — all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you
From this reading “The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.”
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading “The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.”
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading “The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.”
offensive or disagreeable; causing discomfort or unhappiness
From this reading “The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.”
widely or fully known
From this reading “The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An unpleasant voice too.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
yet to be or coming
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Kaspar!
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Makan!"
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
plural of “reality” — all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading An unpleasant voice too.
offensive or disagreeable; causing discomfort or unhappiness
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
widely or fully known
From this reading The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
a late time of life
From this reading He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked it less.
Chapter 1 of Almayer's Folly: A Story of an Eastern River by Joseph Conrad holds 271 sentences, grouped into 55 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 271 sentences of Almayer's Folly: A Story of an Eastern River, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Almayer's Folly: A Story of an Eastern River by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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.
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Yes. All 3422 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #720 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
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About 285 minutes of reading across 685 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Almayer's Folly: A Story of an Eastern River, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
