Chapter 1 of American Adventures is here in full — 256 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of American Adventures is here in full — 256 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
On journeys through the States we start, ... We willing learners of all, teachers of all, lovers of all. We dwell a while in every city and town ... --WALT WHITMAN. Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
Chapter 1 of American Adventures is here in full — 256 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 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.
one of the large landmasses of the earth
From this reading “Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.”
past form of “curb” — lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits
From this reading “Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.”
think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading “We dwell a while in every city and town ...”
a lack of patience; irritation with anything that causes delay
From this reading “Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.”
plural of “journey” — the act of traveling from one place to another
From this reading “On journeys through the States we start, ...”
plural of “learner” — someone (especially a child) who learns (as from a teacher) or takes up knowledge or beliefs
From this reading “We willing learners of all, teachers of all, lovers of all.”
plural of “teacher” — a person whose occupation is teaching
From this reading “We willing learners of all, teachers of all, lovers of all.”
United States poet who celebrated the greatness of America (1819-1892)
From this reading “--WALT WHITMAN.”
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 We dwell a while in every city and town ...
to or in a foreign country
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
(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 We willing learners of all, teachers of all, lovers of all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We dwell a while in every city and town ...
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading We dwell a while in every city and town ...
a friend who is frequently in the company of another
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
one of the large landmasses of the earth
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
placed crosswise
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
past form of “curb” — lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading We dwell a while in every city and town ...
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading We dwell a while in every city and town ...
destroyed or killed
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
a lack of patience; irritation with anything that causes delay
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We dwell a while in every city and town ...
plural of “journey” — the act of traveling from one place to another
From this reading On journeys through the States we start, ...
plural of “learner” — someone (especially a child) who learns (as from a teacher) or takes up knowledge or beliefs
From this reading We willing learners of all, teachers of all, lovers of all.
plural of “lover” — a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading We willing learners of all, teachers of all, lovers of all.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We willing learners of all, teachers of all, lovers of all.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On journeys through the States we start, ...
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading On journeys through the States we start, ...
plural of “state” — the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading On journeys through the States we start, ...
plural of “teacher” — a person whose occupation is teaching
From this reading We willing learners of all, teachers of all, lovers of all.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On journeys through the States we start, ...
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading On journeys through the States we start, ...
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading We dwell a while in every city and town ...
an act of traveling by water
From this reading Had my companion and I never crossed the continent together, had we never gone "abroad at home," I might have curbed my impatience at the beginning of our second voyage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading --WALT WHITMAN.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading On journeys through the States we start, ...
during the time that
From this reading We dwell a while in every city and town ...
United States poet who celebrated the greatness of America (1819-1892)
From this reading --WALT WHITMAN.
disposed or inclined toward
From this reading We willing learners of all, teachers of all, lovers of all.
Chapter 1 of American Adventures by Julian Street holds 256 sentences, grouped into 52 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 256 sentences of American Adventures, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of American Adventures by Julian Street exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 256 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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 American Adventures by Julian Street on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6556 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18304 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18304, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 546 minutes of reading across 1312 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through American Adventures section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of American Adventures 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 American Adventures, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
