Chapter 1 of Best Stories from the Best Book is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Best Stories from the Best Book is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field. The servant wanted to root up the tares. The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest." Why did Jesus tell this story? See what He says about it:-- "The field is the world.
Chapter 1 of Best Stories from the Best Book is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading “So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.”
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading “The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."”
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading “So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.”
the yield from plants in a single growing season
From this reading “The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."”
a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)
From this reading “Why did Jesus tell this story?”
(botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground
From this reading “The servant wanted to root up the tares.”
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “The servant wanted to root up the tares.”
annual or biennial grass having erect flower spikes and light brown grains
From this reading “So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading See what He says about it:-- "The field is the world.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Why did Jesus tell this story?
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.
the yield from plants in a single growing season
From this reading The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading See what He says about it:-- "The field is the world.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading See what He says about it:-- "The field is the world.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading See what He says about it:-- "The field is the world.
a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)
From this reading Why did Jesus tell this story?
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."
not any; not one
From this reading The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."
(botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground
From this reading The servant wanted to root up the tares.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."
Identical; not different.
From this reading So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading See what He says about it:-- "The field is the world.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading See what He says about it:-- "The field is the world.
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading The servant wanted to root up the tares.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Why did Jesus tell this story?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.
express in words
From this reading Why did Jesus tell this story?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Why did Jesus tell this story?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The servant wanted to root up the tares.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."
up to a particular time
From this reading The man said, "No; let them grow together until the harvest."
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The servant wanted to root up the tares.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading The servant wanted to root up the tares.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading See what He says about it:-- "The field is the world.
annual or biennial grass having erect flower spikes and light brown grains
From this reading So the wheat and tares were growing in the same field.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why did Jesus tell this story?
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading See what He says about it:-- "The field is the world.
Chapter 1 of Best Stories from the Best Book by James Edson White holds 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 449 sentences of Best Stories from the Best Book, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Best Stories from the Best Book by James Edson White exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 Best Stories from the Best Book by James Edson White on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1776 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46970 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46970, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 148 minutes of reading across 356 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Best Stories from the Best Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Best Stories from the Best Book 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 Best Stories from the Best Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
