Chapter 1 of Half-Past Seven Stories is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Half-Past Seven Stories is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Well it sounded something like this: "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!" Well, it came in about a week. On the twenty-third of November, to be exact. It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
Chapter 1 of Half-Past Seven Stories is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 54/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 266–270
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.
formerly two short sleds coupled together
From this reading “It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.”
Strictly particular and correct.
From this reading “On the twenty-third of November, to be exact.”
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading “It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.”
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading “"An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"”
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading “On the twenty-third of November, to be exact.”
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading “It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.”
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading “"An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “Well it sounded something like this:”
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 "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Well, it came in about a week.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading On the twenty-third of November, to be exact.
formerly two short sleds coupled together
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Well, it came in about a week.
move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
Strictly particular and correct.
From this reading On the twenty-third of November, to be exact.
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Well, it came in about a week.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Well it sounded something like this:
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Well it sounded something like this:
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
engage in
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading On the twenty-third of November, to be exact.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the twenty-third of November, to be exact.
and nothing more
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
cause to go somewhere
From this reading "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Well it sounded something like this:
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading Well it sounded something like this:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On the twenty-third of November, to be exact.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Well it sounded something like this:
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading On the twenty-third of November, to be exact.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
coming next after the twenty-second in position
From this reading On the twenty-third of November, to be exact.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading Well, it came in about a week.
(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 Well it sounded something like this:
a Caucasian
From this reading It took only an hour to make the fields white, and only about three for the snow to pile deep enough to carry the new bobsled.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading "An' please, God, send us some snow,--a _whole lot of it_!"
Chapter 1 of Half-Past Seven Stories by Robert Gordon Anderson holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 410 sentences of Half-Past Seven Stories, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Half-Past Seven Stories by Robert Gordon Anderson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Half-Past Seven Stories by Robert Gordon Anderson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2778 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7505 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7505, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 231 minutes of reading across 556 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Half-Past Seven Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Half-Past Seven Stories 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 Half-Past Seven Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
