Chapter 1 of Down the Rhine is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Down the Rhine is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other. YOUNG AMERICA IN GERMANY. A Story of Travel and Adventure. OLIVER OPTIC. BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD.
Chapter 1 of Down the Rhine is here in full — 269 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/53 · 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.
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading “A Story of Travel and Adventure.”
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
From this reading “BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD.”
lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing wholly or in part
From this reading “I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.”
a republic in central Europe; split into East Germany and West Germany after World War II and reunited in 1990
From this reading “YOUNG AMERICA IN GERMANY.”
United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)
From this reading “BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD.”
United States jazz musician who influenced the style of Louis Armstrong (1885-1938)
From this reading “OLIVER OPTIC.”
of or relating to or resembling the eye
From this reading “OLIVER OPTIC.”
United States author of surrealistic allegorical plays (born in 1943)
From this reading “BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD.”
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 believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading A Story of Travel and Adventure.
North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
From this reading YOUNG AMERICA IN GERMANY.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A Story of Travel and Adventure.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
From this reading BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing wholly or in part
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
the organ of sight
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
a republic in central Europe; split into East Germany and West Germany after World War II and reunited in 1990
From this reading YOUNG AMERICA IN GERMANY.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)
From this reading BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A Story of Travel and Adventure.
United States jazz musician who influenced the style of Louis Armstrong (1885-1938)
From this reading OLIVER OPTIC.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
of or relating to or resembling the eye
From this reading OLIVER OPTIC.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
United States author of surrealistic allegorical plays (born in 1943)
From this reading BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD.
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 A Story of Travel and Adventure.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading A Story of Travel and Adventure.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading YOUNG AMERICA IN GERMANY.
Chapter 1 of Down the Rhine by Oliver Optic holds 269 sentences, grouped into 54 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 269 sentences of Down the Rhine, unabridged, divided into 54 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Down the Rhine by Oliver Optic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 269 sentences, grouped into 54 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 54 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 54 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 the Rhine by Oliver Optic on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5315 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24124 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24124, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 442 minutes of reading across 1063 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Down the Rhine section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Down the Rhine 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 the Rhine, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
