Chapter 1 of Idle Ideas in 1905 is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Idle Ideas in 1905 is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc. LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C. ARE WE AS INTERESTING AS WE THINK WE ARE? “CHARMED. Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
Chapter 1 of Idle Ideas in 1905 is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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 small vessel for travel on water
From this reading ““Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.”
strongly attracted
From this reading ““CHARMED.”
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading “Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.”
not in action or at work
From this reading ““Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.”
arousing or holding the attention
From this reading “ARE WE AS INTERESTING AS WE THINK WE ARE?”
small in range or scope
From this reading “LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.”
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading “LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.”
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading “Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading ARE WE AS INTERESTING AS WE THINK WE ARE?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading ARE WE AS INTERESTING AS WE THINK WE ARE?
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
strongly attracted
From this reading “CHARMED.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
a boy or man
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
not in action or at work
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
arousing or holding the attention
From this reading ARE WE AS INTERESTING AS WE THINK WE ARE?
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
small in range or scope
From this reading LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
the force of workers available
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading ARE WE AS INTERESTING AS WE THINK WE ARE?
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “Three Men in a Boat,” “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow,” etc.
precisely as stated
From this reading Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite
From this reading LONDON HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 182, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading ARE WE AS INTERESTING AS WE THINK WE ARE?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading Very hot weather we’ve been having of late—I mean cold.
Chapter 1 of Idle Ideas in 1905 by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome holds 147 sentences, grouped into 30 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 147 sentences of Idle Ideas in 1905, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Idle Ideas in 1905 by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 147 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Idle Ideas in 1905 by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3270 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3140 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3140, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 272 minutes of reading across 654 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Idle Ideas in 1905 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Idle Ideas in 1905 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 Idle Ideas in 1905, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
