Chapter 1 of Aunt Jane's Nieces is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Aunt Jane's Nieces is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BETH RECEIVES AN INVITATION. Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table. "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat. The girl raised her eyebrows, expressing surprise. It was something unusual for her to receive a letter.
Chapter 1 of Aunt Jane's Nieces is here in full — 100 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
the 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet
From this reading “BETH RECEIVES AN INVITATION.”
-ing form of “express” — give expression to
From this reading “The girl raised her eyebrows, expressing surprise.”
plural of “eyebrow” — the arch of hair above each eye
From this reading “The girl raised her eyebrows, expressing surprise.”
German tennis player who won seven women's singles titles at Wimbledon (born in 1969)
From this reading “Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.”
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading “Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.”
third-person singular of “receive” — get something; come into possession of
From this reading “BETH RECEIVES AN INVITATION.”
an operation that segregates items into groups according to a specified criterion
From this reading “Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.”
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading “"Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.”
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 "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading BETH RECEIVES AN INVITATION.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.
the 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet
From this reading BETH RECEIVES AN INVITATION.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.
artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
a female human offspring
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.
-ing form of “express” — give expression to
From this reading The girl raised her eyebrows, expressing surprise.
plural of “eyebrow” — the arch of hair above each eye
From this reading The girl raised her eyebrows, expressing surprise.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
a young female
From this reading The girl raised her eyebrows, expressing surprise.
German tennis player who won seven women's singles titles at Wimbledon (born in 1969)
From this reading Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The girl raised her eyebrows, expressing surprise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something
From this reading BETH RECEIVES AN INVITATION.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading The girl raised her eyebrows, expressing surprise.
get something; come into possession of
From this reading It was something unusual for her to receive a letter.
third-person singular of “receive” — get something; come into possession of
From this reading BETH RECEIVES AN INVITATION.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading It was something unusual for her to receive a letter.
an operation that segregates items into groups according to a specified criterion
From this reading Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading The girl raised her eyebrows, expressing surprise.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
not usual or common or ordinary
From this reading It was something unusual for her to receive a letter.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Professor De Graf was sorting the mail at the breakfast table.
in or at the place that
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Here's a letter for you, Beth," said he, and tossed it across the cloth to where his daughter sat.
Chapter 1 of Aunt Jane's Nieces by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum holds 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 100 sentences of Aunt Jane's Nieces, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Aunt Jane's Nieces by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 100 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 Aunt Jane's Nieces by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3611 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10123 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10123, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 300 minutes of reading across 723 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Aunt Jane's Nieces section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Aunt Jane's Nieces 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 Aunt Jane's Nieces, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
