Chapter 1 of Don't Think About It is here in full — 351 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Don't Think About It is here in full — 351 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one. The trick is ..._ Tommy wasn't really a timid child. Sometimes he didn't understand things and was puzzled. More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled. Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.
Chapter 1 of Don't Think About It is here in full — 351 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/70 · 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.
sporadically and infrequently
From this reading “Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.”
filled with bewilderment
From this reading “Sometimes he didn't understand things and was puzzled.”
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading “_It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.”
showing fear and lack of confidence
From this reading “The trick is ..._ Tommy wasn't really a timid child.”
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading “The trick is ..._ Tommy wasn't really a timid child.”
disturb the balance or stability of
From this reading “Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.”
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading “Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Sometimes he didn't understand things and was puzzled.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
a young person of either sex
From this reading The trick is ..._ Tommy wasn't really a timid child.
rid of obstructions
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes he didn't understand things and was puzzled.
divisible by two
From this reading Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Sometimes he didn't understand things and was puzzled.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The trick is ..._ Tommy wasn't really a timid child.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
sporadically and infrequently
From this reading Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
many times at short intervals
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
and nothing more
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
filled with bewilderment
From this reading Sometimes he didn't understand things and was puzzled.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading The trick is ..._ Tommy wasn't really a timid child.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading Sometimes he didn't understand things and was puzzled.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _It isn't much of a secret, but it's the only one.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Sometimes he didn't understand things and was puzzled.
showing fear and lack of confidence
From this reading The trick is ..._ Tommy wasn't really a timid child.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The trick is ..._ Tommy wasn't really a timid child.
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading The trick is ..._ Tommy wasn't really a timid child.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading Sometimes he didn't understand things and was puzzled.
disturb the balance or stability of
From this reading Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Sometimes he didn't understand things and was puzzled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The trick is ..._ Tommy wasn't really a timid child.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading Occasionally such things worried and even upset him a little.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading More often, grown-ups couldn't or wouldn't understand things that were perfectly clear to him and he was more puzzled.
Chapter 1 of Don't Think About It by William W. Stuart holds 351 sentences, grouped into 71 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 351 sentences of Don't Think About It, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Don't Think About It by William W. Stuart exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 351 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 Don't Think About It by William W. Stuart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 351 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60935 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60935, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 29 minutes of reading across 71 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Don't Think About It section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Don't Think About It 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 Don't Think About It, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
