Chapter 1 of In the Garden is here in full — 302 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of In the Garden is here in full — 302 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The protozoic recorder chirped like a bird. Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place. So they skipped several steps in the procedure. The chordata discerner read _Positive_ over most of the surface. There was spinal fluid on that orb, rivers of it.
Chapter 1 of In the Garden is here in full — 302 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/60 · 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 substance that is fluid at room temperature and pressure
From this reading “There was spinal fluid on that orb, rivers of it.”
the ball-shaped capsule containing the vertebrate eye
From this reading “There was spinal fluid on that orb, rivers of it.”
characterized by or displaying affirmation or acceptance or certainty etc.
a particular course of action intended to achieve a result
From this reading “So they skipped several steps in the procedure.”
equipment for making records
From this reading “The protozoic recorder chirped like a bird.”
inflected form of “skip” — bypass
From this reading “So they skipped several steps in the procedure.”
anesthesia of the lower half of the body; caused by injury to the spinal cord or by injecting an anesthetic beneath the arachnoid membrane that surrounds the spinal cord
From this reading “There was spinal fluid on that orb, rivers of it.”
plural of “trace” — a just detectable amount
From this reading “Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.”
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 “So they skipped several steps in the procedure.”
In this reading “The protozoic recorder chirped like a bird.”
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 The protozoic recorder chirped like a bird.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading The protozoic recorder chirped like a bird.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The protozoic recorder chirped like a bird.
comprises true vertebrates and animals having a notochord
From this reading The chordata discerner read _Positive_ over most of the surface.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The chordata discerner read _Positive_ over most of the surface.
a substance that is fluid at room temperature and pressure
From this reading There was spinal fluid on that orb, rivers of it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading So they skipped several steps in the procedure.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The protozoic recorder chirped like a bird.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
full of life and energy
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
used to form the superlative
From this reading The chordata discerner read _Positive_ over most of the surface.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The chordata discerner read _Positive_ over most of the surface.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
and nothing more
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
the ball-shaped capsule containing the vertebrate eye
From this reading There was spinal fluid on that orb, rivers of it.
above and across; more than
From this reading The chordata discerner read _Positive_ over most of the surface.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
characterized by or displaying affirmation or acceptance or certainty etc.
From this reading The chordata discerner read _Positive_ over most of the surface.
a particular course of action intended to achieve a result
From this reading So they skipped several steps in the procedure.
of or relating to the Protozoa
From this reading The protozoic recorder chirped like a bird.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading The chordata discerner read _Positive_ over most of the surface.
equipment for making records
From this reading The protozoic recorder chirped like a bird.
plural of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading There was spinal fluid on that orb, rivers of it.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading So they skipped several steps in the procedure.
inflected form of “skip” — bypass
From this reading So they skipped several steps in the procedure.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So they skipped several steps in the procedure.
anesthesia of the lower half of the body; caused by injury to the spinal cord or by injecting an anesthetic beneath the arachnoid membrane that surrounds the spinal cord
From this reading There was spinal fluid on that orb, rivers of it.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading So they skipped several steps in the procedure.
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading The chordata discerner read _Positive_ over most of the surface.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The protozoic recorder chirped like a bird.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading So they skipped several steps in the procedure.
plural of “trace” — a just detectable amount
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was spinal fluid on that orb, rivers of it.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Not only would there be life traces on that little moon, but it would be a lively place.
Chapter 1 of In the Garden by R. A. Lafferty holds 302 sentences, grouped into 61 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 302 sentences of In the Garden, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of In the Garden by R. A. Lafferty exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 302 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 In the Garden by R. A. Lafferty on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 302 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61007 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61007, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 25 minutes of reading across 61 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In the Garden section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of In the Garden 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 In the Garden, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
