Chapter 1 of Avery is here in full — 501 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Avery is here in full — 501 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Oh, Pink! Mother _can't_ lift you.... I would if I could.... Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby. Couldn't you amuse him, somehow?
Chapter 1 of Avery is here in full — 501 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/100 · 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.
occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
From this reading “Couldn't you amuse him, somehow?”
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.”
raise from a lower to a higher position
From this reading “Mother _can't_ lift you....”
popular aquarium fish
From this reading “Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.”
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “Mother _can't_ lift you....”
a light shade of red
From this reading “"Oh, Pink!”
in some unspecified way or manner; or by some unspecified means
From this reading “Couldn't you amuse him, somehow?”
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading “Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.”
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.
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.
occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
From this reading Couldn't you amuse him, somehow?
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mother _can't_ lift you....
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I would if I could....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Couldn't you amuse him, somehow?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Couldn't you amuse him, somehow?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I would if I could....
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I would if I could....
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.
raise from a lower to a higher position
From this reading Mother _can't_ lift you....
popular aquarium fish
From this reading Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Mother _can't_ lift you....
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, Pink!
a light shade of red
From this reading "Oh, Pink!
in some unspecified way or manner; or by some unspecified means
From this reading Couldn't you amuse him, somehow?
carry out
From this reading Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I would if I could....
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, I know I used to-- "Molly, take the baby.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Mother _can't_ lift you....
Chapter 1 of Avery by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps holds 501 sentences, grouped into 101 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 501 sentences of Avery, unabridged, divided into 101 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Avery by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 501 sentences, grouped into 101 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 101 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 101 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 Avery by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1595 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33393 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33393, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 132 minutes of reading across 319 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Avery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Avery 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 Avery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
