Chapter 1 of Down South is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Down South is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES. I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy. II. OUT WEST; or, Roughing it on the Great Lakes. III.
Chapter 1 of Down South is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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 youthful male person
From this reading “I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.”
plural of “lake” — a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading “OUT WEST; or, Roughing it on the Great Lakes.”
plural of “peril” — a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading “I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.”
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.”
-ing form of “rough” — prepare in preliminary or sketchy form
From this reading “OUT WEST; or, Roughing it on the Great Lakes.”
similar things placed in order or happening one after another
From this reading “THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES.”
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading “I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.”
relating to or characteristic of the western parts of the world or the West as opposed to the eastern or oriental parts
From this reading “THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES.”
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 I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.
a youthful male person
From this reading I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.
the act of departing
From this reading I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading II.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading III.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading OUT WEST; or, Roughing it on the Great Lakes.
plural of “lake” — a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading OUT WEST; or, Roughing it on the Great Lakes.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading OUT WEST; or, Roughing it on the Great Lakes.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading OUT WEST; or, Roughing it on the Great Lakes.
plural of “peril” — a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.
-ing form of “rough” — prepare in preliminary or sketchy form
From this reading OUT WEST; or, Roughing it on the Great Lakes.
similar things placed in order or happening one after another
From this reading THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading I. GOING WEST; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy.
relating to or characteristic of the western parts of the world or the West as opposed to the eastern or oriental parts
From this reading THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES.
Chapter 1 of Down South by Oliver Optic holds 125 sentences, grouped into 25 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 125 sentences of Down South, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Down South by Oliver Optic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 125 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 Down South by Oliver Optic on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3543 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24554 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24554, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 295 minutes of reading across 709 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Down South section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Down South 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 Down South, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
