Chapter 1 of Gravy Train is here in full — 573 sentences across 115 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Gravy Train is here in full — 573 sentences across 115 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes? McWorther's was more efficient. One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther. But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect. With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.
Chapter 1 of Gravy Train is here in full — 573 sentences across 115 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/114 · 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.
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading “One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.”
an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole
From this reading “But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect.”
being effective without wasting time or effort or expense
From this reading “McWorther's was more efficient.”
plural of “fairy” — a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading “_Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes?”
pleasing to the mind or feeling
From this reading “One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.”
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading “With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.”
the state of being retired from one's business or occupation
From this reading “With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.”
a Greek disciple and helper of Saint Paul
From this reading “One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect.
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole
From this reading But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.
being effective without wasting time or effort or expense
From this reading McWorther's was more efficient.
at any time
From this reading _Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes?
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading _Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes?
plural of “fairy” — a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading _Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
let have
From this reading _Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes?
pleasing to the mind or feeling
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading _Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.
ten 10s
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading McWorther's was more efficient.
not able to be found
From this reading But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading McWorther's was more efficient.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
From this reading But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect.
designed or carried out according to a plan
From this reading With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.
a full supply
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
the state of being retired from one's business or occupation
From this reading With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading _Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes?
a Greek disciple and helper of Saint Paul
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading McWorther's was more efficient.
(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 With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.
which person or people
From this reading _Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes?
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading One wish was plenty to bring catastrophe!_ At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther.
plural of “wish” — a specific feeling of desire
From this reading _Ever hear of evil fairies who grant three wishes?
in the company of; together with
From this reading With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect.
Chapter 1 of Gravy Train by Daniel F. Galouye holds 573 sentences, grouped into 115 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 573 sentences of Gravy Train, unabridged, divided into 115 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Gravy Train by Daniel F. Galouye exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 573 sentences, grouped into 115 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 115 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 115 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 Gravy Train by Daniel F. Galouye on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 573 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60809 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60809, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 47 minutes of reading across 115 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Gravy Train section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Gravy Train 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 Gravy Train, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
