Chapter 1 of Awakening is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Awakening is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house. Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties. Quickly she switched the news off the Tevee. Master Kelsey hated newscasts. They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
Chapter 1 of Awakening is here in full — 430 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
plural of “duty” — the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading “Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.”
treated with dislike or contempt
From this reading “Master Kelsey hated newscasts.”
an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
From this reading “The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.”
plural of “newscast” — a broadcast of news or commentary on the news
From this reading “Master Kelsey hated newscasts.”
a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to
From this reading “Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.”
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.”
past form of “switch” — change over, change around, as to a new order or sequence
From this reading “Quickly she switched the news off the Tevee.”
lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance
From this reading “They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.”
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 “Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.”
to consider or examine in speech or writing
In this reading “They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.”
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 They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
lacking funds
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
plural of “duty” — the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
treated with dislike or contempt
From this reading Master Kelsey hated newscasts.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
a social unit living together
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading Master Kelsey hated newscasts.
information about recent and important events
From this reading Quickly she switched the news off the Tevee.
plural of “newscast” — a broadcast of news or commentary on the news
From this reading Master Kelsey hated newscasts.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Quickly she switched the news off the Tevee.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
capable of happening or existing
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
with speed
From this reading Quickly she switched the news off the Tevee.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
past form of “switch” — change over, change around, as to a new order or sequence
From this reading Quickly she switched the news off the Tevee.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Quickly she switched the news off the Tevee.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The scream of the commutor jet bringing Kelsey home broke like glass outside the house.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Startled, Alice realized that she was behind schedule in her household duties.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They made him uneasy, particularly with all this talk about a possible air-raid.
Chapter 1 of Awakening by Bryce Walton holds 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 430 sentences of Awakening, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Awakening by Bryce Walton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 430 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Awakening by Bryce Walton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 856 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #69210 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #69210, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 71 minutes of reading across 172 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Awakening section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Awakening 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 Awakening, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
