Chapter 1 of Holes, Incorporated is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Holes, Incorporated is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Would you like to see all hell break loose? Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills. But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?" "Ted Baker." "Bill Stephens."
Chapter 1 of Holes, Incorporated is here in full — 257 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 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.
someone who bakes commercially
From this reading “"Ted Baker."”
plural of “beam” — a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides airplane pilots in darkness or bad weather
From this reading “Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.”
plural of “hole” — an opening into or through something
From this reading “Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.”
move with force
From this reading “Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.”
a person who is head of an administrative department of government
From this reading “But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"”
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading “Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.”
plural of “stephen” — English writer (1832-1904)
From this reading “"Bill Stephens."”
a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing Edwardian style clothes
From this reading “"Ted Baker."”
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.
be unleashed; emerge with violence or noise
In this reading “_Would you like to see all hell break loose?”
In this reading “But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"”
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 Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
(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 _Would you like to see all hell break loose?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
someone who bakes commercially
From this reading "Ted Baker."
plural of “beam” — a signal transmitted along a narrow path; guides airplane pilots in darkness or bad weather
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading "Bill Stephens."
terminate
From this reading _Would you like to see all hell break loose?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading _Would you like to see all hell break loose?
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
plural of “hole” — an opening into or through something
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
and nothing more
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading _Would you like to see all hell break loose?
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading _Would you like to see all hell break loose?
engage in
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
verbal abuse; a crude substitute for argument
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
move with force
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
a person who is head of an administrative department of government
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading _Would you like to see all hell break loose?
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
plural of “stephen” — English writer (1832-1904)
From this reading "Bill Stephens."
a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing Edwardian style clothes
From this reading "Ted Baker."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Just make a few holes in nothing at all--push some steel beams through the holes--and then head for the hills.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Would you like to see all hell break loose?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
which person or people
From this reading But first, read what happened to some people who really did it._ The red-headed secretary asked, "Names, please?"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading _Would you like to see all hell break loose?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _Would you like to see all hell break loose?
Chapter 1 of Holes, Incorporated by L. Major Reynolds holds 257 sentences, grouped into 52 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 257 sentences of Holes, Incorporated, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Holes, Incorporated by L. Major Reynolds exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 257 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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 Holes, Incorporated by L. Major Reynolds on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 257 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30468 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30468, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 21 minutes of reading across 52 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Holes, Incorporated section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Holes, Incorporated 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 Holes, Incorporated, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
