Chapter 1 of Handyman is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Handyman is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives.... James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber. Or was it the cube steaker? No matter. The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.
Chapter 1 of Handyman is here in full — 104 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
a hexahedron with six equal squares as faces
From this reading “Or was it the cube steaker?”
the wood of broad-leaved dicotyledonous trees (as distinguished from the wood of conifers)
From this reading “The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.”
a sudden and severe onset of trouble
From this reading “The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.”
past form of “resist” — elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading “The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.”
a slice of meat cut from the fleshy part of an animal or large fish
From this reading “James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.”
inflected form of “swing” — move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
From this reading “James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.”
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading “They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....”
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.
In this reading “James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.”
In this reading “They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....”
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 They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.
a hexahedron with six equal squares as faces
From this reading Or was it the cube steaker?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.
the wood of broad-leaved dicotyledonous trees (as distinguished from the wood of conifers)
From this reading The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Or was it the cube steaker?
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.
plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading No matter.
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
not any; not one
From this reading No matter.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
a sudden and severe onset of trouble
From this reading The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Or was it the cube steaker?
past form of “resist” — elude, especially in a baffling way
From this reading The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
a slice of meat cut from the fleshy part of an animal or large fish
From this reading James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Or was it the cube steaker?
inflected form of “swing” — move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
From this reading James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
a special situation
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Or was it the cube steaker?
(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 The door was a good, hardwood door and resisted his onslaught well.
in the company of; together with
From this reading James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading They didn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of their natural lives....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading James Ypsilanti swung at the door with the steak cuber.
Chapter 1 of Handyman by Frank Banta holds 104 sentences, grouped into 21 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 104 sentences of Handyman, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Handyman by Frank Banta exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 104 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 Handyman by Frank Banta on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 104 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51546 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51546, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 8 minutes of reading across 21 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Handyman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Handyman 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 Handyman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
