Chapter 1 of American Sketches is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of American Sketches is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
William Blackwood & Sons - 1908 AMERICAN SKETCHES. NEW YORK. To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation. A raw, half-finished, unkempt street confronts you. Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.
Chapter 1 of American Sketches is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
very dark wood of any of several blackwood trees
From this reading “William Blackwood & Sons - 1908 AMERICAN SKETCHES.”
third-person singular of “confront” — oppose, as in hostility or a competition
From this reading “A raw, half-finished, unkempt street confronts you.”
plural of “crawl” — a very slow movement
From this reading “Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.”
very light rain; stronger than mist but less than a shower
From this reading “To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.”
a road (especially that part of a road) over which vehicles travel
From this reading “Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.”
plural of “rut” — a groove or furrow (especially one in soft earth caused by wheels)
From this reading “Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.”
a conveyance that transports passengers or freight in carriers suspended from cables and supported by a series of towers
From this reading “Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.”
not neatly combed
From this reading “A raw, half-finished, unkempt street confronts you.”
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 William Blackwood & Sons - 1908 AMERICAN SKETCHES.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading William Blackwood & Sons - 1908 AMERICAN SKETCHES.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
very dark wood of any of several blackwood trees
From this reading William Blackwood & Sons - 1908 AMERICAN SKETCHES.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.
third-person singular of “confront” — oppose, as in hostility or a competition
From this reading A raw, half-finished, unkempt street confronts you.
plural of “crawl” — a very slow movement
From this reading Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.
(plural) the deepest and most remote part
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
the state of being decayed or destroyed
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
very light rain; stronger than mist but less than a shower
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A raw, half-finished, unkempt street confronts you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading NEW YORK.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
(used especially of commodities) being unprocessed or manufactured using only simple or minimal processes
From this reading A raw, half-finished, unkempt street confronts you.
a road (especially that part of a road) over which vehicles travel
From this reading Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.
(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
From this reading Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.
plural of “rut” — a groove or furrow (especially one in soft earth caused by wheels)
From this reading Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.
plural of “sketch” — preliminary drawing for later elaboration
From this reading William Blackwood & Sons - 1908 AMERICAN SKETCHES.
plural of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading William Blackwood & Sons - 1908 AMERICAN SKETCHES.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading A raw, half-finished, unkempt street confronts you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To land at Hoboken in a quiet drizzle is to sound the depths of desolation.
a conveyance that transports passengers or freight in carriers suspended from cables and supported by a series of towers
From this reading Along the roadway, roughly broken into ruts, crawls a sad tram.
not neatly combed
From this reading A raw, half-finished, unkempt street confronts you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading William Blackwood & Sons - 1908 AMERICAN SKETCHES.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading NEW YORK.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading A raw, half-finished, unkempt street confronts you.
Chapter 1 of American Sketches by Charles Whibley holds 453 sentences, grouped into 91 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 453 sentences of American Sketches, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of American Sketches by Charles Whibley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 453 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 Sketches by Charles Whibley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2245 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25786 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25786, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 187 minutes of reading across 449 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through American Sketches section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of American Sketches 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 Sketches, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
