Chapter 1 of An Australian Lassie is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of An Australian Lassie is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUTHOR OF "THE PERRY GIRLS," ETC. Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again. Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil. "Stand up, Elizabeth Bruce. Put down your pencil and fold your hands behind you."
Chapter 1 of An Australian Lassie is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
capable of wounding
From this reading “Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.”
Australian physician and bacteriologist who described the bacterium that causes undulant fever or brucellosis (1855-1931)
From this reading “"Stand up, Elizabeth Bruce.”
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading “Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.”
an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading “Put down your pencil and fold your hands behind you."”
to the greatest degree or extent or most advanced stage (“furthest” is used more often than “farthest” in this abstract sense)
From this reading “Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.”
a thin cylindrical pointed writing implement; a rod of marking substance encased in wood
From this reading “Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.”
United States philosopher (1876-1957)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE PERRY GIRLS," ETC.”
(formerly) a writing tablet made of slate
From this reading “Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.”
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 Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
anew
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE PERRY GIRLS," ETC.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Put down your pencil and fold your hands behind you."
capable of wounding
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
Australian physician and bacteriologist who described the bacterium that causes undulant fever or brucellosis (1855-1931)
From this reading "Stand up, Elizabeth Bruce.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Put down your pencil and fold your hands behind you."
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading "Stand up, Elizabeth Bruce.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE PERRY GIRLS," ETC.
(plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading Put down your pencil and fold your hands behind you."
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
to the greatest degree or extent or most advanced stage (“furthest” is used more often than “farthest” in this abstract sense)
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
a young female
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE PERRY GIRLS," ETC.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Put down your pencil and fold your hands behind you."
decoration that is hung (as a tapestry) on a wall or over a window
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
in an industrious manner
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE PERRY GIRLS," ETC.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
a thin cylindrical pointed writing implement; a rod of marking substance encased in wood
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
United States philosopher (1876-1957)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE PERRY GIRLS," ETC.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
inflected form of “rub” — move over something with pressure
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
(formerly) a writing tablet made of slate
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
be standing; be upright
From this reading "Stand up, Elizabeth Bruce.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE PERRY GIRLS," ETC.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Mr. Sharman took off his eyeglasses, rubbed them, and put them on again.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Stand up, Elizabeth Bruce.
precisely as stated
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
which person or people
From this reading Then he looked very hard at the little girl at the end of the furthest form, who was hanging her head and industriously biting a slate pencil.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Put down your pencil and fold your hands behind you."
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Put down your pencil and fold your hands behind you."
Chapter 1 of An Australian Lassie by Lilian Turner holds 95 sentences, grouped into 19 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 95 sentences of An Australian Lassie, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of An Australian Lassie by Lilian Turner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 95 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 Australian Lassie by Lilian Turner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2413 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24443 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24443, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 201 minutes of reading across 483 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through An Australian Lassie section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of An Australian Lassie 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 Australian Lassie, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
