Chapter 1 of Babylon, Volume 1 is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Babylon, Volume 1 is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
|Whar's Hiram, Het?' Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly. 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything. Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint. Whar's he off, I say, Mehitabel?'
Chapter 1 of Babylon, Volume 1 is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
possessive form of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading “'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.”
a Protestant layman who assists the minister
From this reading “Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly.”
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading “Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.”
plural of “pear” — sweet juicy gritty-textured fruit available in many varieties
From this reading “'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.”
herb with downy leaves and small purple or white flowers that yields a pungent oil used as a flavoring
From this reading “Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.”
in a tart manner
From this reading “Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly.”
any plant that crowds out cultivated plants
From this reading “Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.”
at any time that; every time that
From this reading “'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.”
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 “Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
any thing at all
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly.
possessive form of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
a Protestant layman who assists the minister
From this reading Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Whar's he off, I say, Mehitabel?'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
made warm or hot (“het” is a dialectal variant of “heated”)
From this reading |Whar's Hiram, Het?'
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading |Whar's Hiram, Het?'
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Whar's he off, I say, Mehitabel?'
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Whar's he off, I say, Mehitabel?'
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
plural of “pear” — sweet juicy gritty-textured fruit available in many varieties
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
herb with downy leaves and small purple or white flowers that yields a pungent oil used as a flavoring
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
express in words
From this reading Whar's he off, I say, Mehitabel?'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
the season of growth
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
in a tart manner
From this reading Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
any plant that crowds out cultivated plants
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading |Whar's Hiram, Het?'
at the time that
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
at any time that; every time that
From this reading 'Pears to me that boy's allus off somewhar, whenever he's wanted to do anything.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Can't git along without him, any way, when we've got to weed the spring peppermint.
a Hebrew minor prophet of the late 7th century BC
From this reading Deacon Zephaniah Winthrop asked of his wife, tartly.
Chapter 1 of Babylon, Volume 1 by Grant Allen holds 219 sentences, grouped into 44 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 219 sentences of Babylon, Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Babylon, Volume 1 by Grant Allen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 219 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 Babylon, Volume 1 by Grant Allen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1950 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47431 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47431, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 162 minutes of reading across 390 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Babylon, Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Babylon, Volume 1 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 Babylon, Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
