Chapter 1 of Back Home is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Back Home is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.” (Your right hand, Book, your right hand. Pity's sakes! How many times have I got to tell you that? Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
Chapter 1 of Back Home is here in full — 197 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
having fair knowledge of
From this reading ““That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.””
spiritual being attendant upon God
From this reading ““That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.””
the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
From this reading “Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)”
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading ““That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.””
a person who enjoys reading
From this reading ““That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.””
plural of “sake” — a reason for wanting something done
From this reading “Pity's sakes!”
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading “Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)”
plural of “toe” — one of the digits of the foot
From this reading “Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)”
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.
having fair knowledge of
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
spiritual being attendant upon God
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
From this reading Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading How many times have I got to tell you that?
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading (Your right hand, Book, your right hand.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading How many times have I got to tell you that?
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How many times have I got to tell you that?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading How many times have I got to tell you that?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
engage in
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading How many times have I got to tell you that?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pity's sakes!
a person who enjoys reading
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
precisely, exactly
From this reading (Your right hand, Book, your right hand.
plural of “sake” — a reason for wanting something done
From this reading Pity's sakes!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
express in words
From this reading How many times have I got to tell you that?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading How many times have I got to tell you that?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading How many times have I got to tell you that?
plural of “toe” — one of the digits of the foot
From this reading Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Chest up and forward, shoulders back and down, and turn your toes out more.)
which person or people
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “That she who is an angel now Might sometimes think of me” GENTLE READER:--Let me make you acquainted with my book, “Back Home.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading (Your right hand, Book, your right hand.
Chapter 1 of Back Home by Eugene Wood holds 197 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 197 sentences of Back Home, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Back Home by Eugene Wood exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 197 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Back Home by Eugene Wood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3505 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2642 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2642, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 292 minutes of reading across 701 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Back Home section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Back Home 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 Back Home, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
