Chapter 1 of Generals Help Themselves is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Generals Help Themselves is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost. But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked. The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk. Then he said: "Go well? It did not go at all.
Chapter 1 of Generals Help Themselves is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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.
the supreme commander of a fleet; ranks above a vice admiral and below a fleet admiral
From this reading “The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.”
with affection
From this reading “The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.”
an officer who acts as military assistant to a more senior officer
From this reading “But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.”
placed crosswise
From this reading “The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.”
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading “The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.”
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading “But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.”
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading “The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.”
an opposing military force
From this reading “But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.”
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.
a man who is very old
In this reading “The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.”
In this reading “The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.”
In this reading “The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.”
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.
the supreme commander of a fleet; ranks above a vice admiral and below a fleet admiral
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
with affection
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
an officer who acts as military assistant to a more senior officer
From this reading But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.
(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 It did not go at all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
placed crosswise
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
an opposing military force
From this reading But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he said: "Go well?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
apprehended with certainty
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
not any; not one
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Then he said: "Go well?
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
in the near future
From this reading But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he said: "Go well?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
up to a particular time
From this reading The admiral, affectionately known as the Old Man, did not reply until he'd closed the door, crossed the room, and dropped into the chair at his desk.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading But the enemy was soon to discover that--_ "Did it go well?" the aide asked.
in the company of; together with
From this reading _With no one to help him, it seemed the General was lost.
Chapter 1 of Generals Help Themselves by M. C. Pease holds 372 sentences, grouped into 75 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 372 sentences of Generals Help Themselves, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Generals Help Themselves by M. C. Pease exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 372 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 Generals Help Themselves by M. C. Pease on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 372 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31680 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31680, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 31 minutes of reading across 75 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Generals Help Themselves section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Generals Help Themselves 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 Generals Help Themselves, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
