Chapter 1 of An Alphabet of Quadrupeds is here in full — 304 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of An Alphabet of Quadrupeds is here in full — 304 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MOOSE. This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful. The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy. The body, which is short and clumsy, is mounted on tall legs. The motion of the animal is a sort of shambling trot.
Chapter 1 of An Alphabet of Quadrupeds is here in full — 304 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 27/60 · 5 reading units · Lines 131–135
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.
lacking grace in movement or posture
From this reading “The body, which is short and clumsy, is mounted on tall legs.”
distinguished from Bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers
From this reading “This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.”
plural of “horn” — a noisemaker (as at parties or games) that makes a loud noise when you blow through it
From this reading “The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.”
making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
From this reading “The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.”
long coarse hair growing from the crest of the animal's neck
From this reading “The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.”
large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called “elk” in Europe and “moose” in North America
From this reading “MOOSE.”
the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
From this reading “The motion of the animal is a sort of shambling trot.”
run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading “The motion of the animal is a sort of shambling trot.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.”
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 The motion of the animal is a sort of shambling trot.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading The body, which is short and clumsy, is mounted on tall legs.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
lacking grace in movement or posture
From this reading The body, which is short and clumsy, is mounted on tall legs.
distinguished from Bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.
plural of “horn” — a noisemaker (as at parties or games) that makes a loud noise when you blow through it
From this reading The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
From this reading The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.
staying power
From this reading The body, which is short and clumsy, is mounted on tall legs.
long coarse hair growing from the crest of the animal's neck
From this reading The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.
large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called “elk” in Europe and “moose” in North America
From this reading MOOSE.
the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
From this reading The motion of the animal is a sort of shambling trot.
assembled for use; especially by being attached to a support
From this reading The body, which is short and clumsy, is mounted on tall legs.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The body, which is short and clumsy, is mounted on tall legs.
and nothing more
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
by chance
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
walking with a slow dragging motion without lifting your feet
From this reading The motion of the animal is a sort of shambling trot.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading The motion of the animal is a sort of shambling trot.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading The body, which is short and clumsy, is mounted on tall legs.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading The head is large, the mane short and thick, and the horns knotty and heavy.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading The motion of the animal is a sort of shambling trot.
lacking grace; clumsy
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The body, which is short and clumsy, is mounted on tall legs.
belonging to which person
From this reading This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance can be called ungraceful.
Chapter 1 of An Alphabet of Quadrupeds by Anonymous holds 304 sentences, grouped into 61 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 304 sentences of An Alphabet of Quadrupeds, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of An Alphabet of Quadrupeds by Anonymous exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 304 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 An Alphabet of Quadrupeds by Anonymous on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 304 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40363 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40363, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 25 minutes of reading across 61 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through An Alphabet of Quadrupeds section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of An Alphabet of Quadrupeds 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 An Alphabet of Quadrupeds, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
