Chapter 1 of Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines is here in full — 86 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines is here in full — 86 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Fire! Fire in the breaker! Oh, the boys! the poor boys!" These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides. They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
Chapter 1 of Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines is here in full — 86 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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 quarry worker who splits off blocks of stone
From this reading “Fire in the breaker!”
a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)
From this reading “They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.”
plural of “cry” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading “These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.”
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading “They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.”
the act of extracting ores or coal etc from the earth
From this reading “They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.”
obtain or seize by violence
From this reading “They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.”
past form of “serve” — serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading “They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.”
plural of “side” — a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading “These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.”
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.
(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 These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Oh, the boys! the poor boys!"
a quarry worker who splits off blocks of stone
From this reading Fire in the breaker!
a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
plural of “cry” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
start firing a weapon
From this reading "Fire!
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
causing or marked by grief or anguish
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Fire in the breaker!
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
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 These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
the act of extracting ores or coal etc from the earth
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, the boys! the poor boys!"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Oh, the boys! the poor boys!"
with speed
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
obtain or seize by violence
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
past form of “serve” — serve a purpose, role, or function
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
plural of “side” — a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Fire in the breaker!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading These cries, and many like them--wild, heartrending, and full of fear--were heard on all sides.
in the company of; together with
From this reading They served to empty the houses, and the one street of the little mining village of Raven Brook was quickly filled with excited people.
Chapter 1 of Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines by Kirk Munroe holds 86 sentences, grouped into 18 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 86 sentences of Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines by Kirk Munroe exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 86 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines by Kirk Munroe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2418 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21863 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21863, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 201 minutes of reading across 484 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines 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 Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
