Chapter 1 of Gloria and Treeless Street is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Gloria and Treeless Street is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely. But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted. "You are at liberty now--this minute, Uncle Em!" said Gloria. The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said: "All right.
Chapter 1 of Gloria and Treeless Street is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 22/32 · 5 reading units · Lines 106–110
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.
providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief (“comfy” is informal)
From this reading “The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:”
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading “The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:”
an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal
From this reading “The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:”
discontinued temporarily
From this reading “But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.”
The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions on one's way of life.
From this reading “"Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “"Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.”
in a polite manner
From this reading “"Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.”
inflected form of “shrug” — raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation
From this reading “The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:”
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 "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
(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 "All right.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "You are at liberty now--this minute, Uncle Em!" said Gloria.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.
providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief (“comfy” is informal)
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
a quad with a square body
From this reading "You are at liberty now--this minute, Uncle Em!" said Gloria.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You are at liberty now--this minute, Uncle Em!" said Gloria.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
discontinued temporarily
From this reading But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.
The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions on one's way of life.
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.
a woman of refinement
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading "You are at liberty now--this minute, Uncle Em!" said Gloria.
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "You are at liberty now--this minute, Uncle Em!" said Gloria.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
above and across; more than
From this reading But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.
in a polite manner
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "All right.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You are at liberty now--this minute, Uncle Em!" said Gloria.
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
inflected form of “shrug” — raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.
carry out
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "You are at liberty now--this minute, Uncle Em!" said Gloria.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The man at the desk shrugged his shoulders, then, helping her to a comfortable seat on the arm-chair, said:
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading "You are at liberty now--this minute, Uncle Em!" said Gloria.
a Caucasian
From this reading But "Madam's" small, white hand, placed over his lips, interrupted.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "Take a seat, madam, and I will be at liberty in a few moments," he began politely.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You are at liberty now--this minute, Uncle Em!" said Gloria.
Chapter 1 of Gloria and Treeless Street by Annie Hamilton Donnell holds 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 164 sentences of Gloria and Treeless Street, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Gloria and Treeless Street by Annie Hamilton Donnell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 Gloria and Treeless Street by Annie Hamilton Donnell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1063 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9398 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9398, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 88 minutes of reading across 213 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Gloria and Treeless Street section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Gloria and Treeless Street 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 Gloria and Treeless Street, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
