Chapter 1 of In the Track of the Troops is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 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 Track of the Troops is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE. CHAPTER ONE. A TALE OF MODERN WAR. REVEALS THE EXPLOSIVE NATURE OF MY EARLY CAREER. The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
Chapter 1 of In the Track of the Troops is here in full — 409 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
plural of “adventure” — a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful)
From this reading “The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.”
surprising greatly
From this reading “The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.”
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading “REVEALS THE EXPLOSIVE NATURE OF MY EARLY CAREER.”
serving to explode or characterized by explosion or sudden outburst
From this reading “REVEALS THE EXPLOSIVE NATURE OF MY EARLY CAREER.”
in the recent past
From this reading “The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.”
make a logical or causal connection
From this reading “The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.”
third-person singular of “reveal” — make visible
From this reading “REVEALS THE EXPLOSIVE NATURE OF MY EARLY CAREER.”
soldiers collectively
From this reading “IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.”
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 A TALE OF MODERN WAR.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
plural of “adventure” — a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful)
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
surprising greatly
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading REVEALS THE EXPLOSIVE NATURE OF MY EARLY CAREER.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading REVEALS THE EXPLOSIVE NATURE OF MY EARLY CAREER.
divisible by two
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
serving to explode or characterized by explosion or sudden outburst
From this reading REVEALS THE EXPLOSIVE NATURE OF MY EARLY CAREER.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
belonging to the modern era; since the Middle Ages
From this reading A TALE OF MODERN WAR.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading REVEALS THE EXPLOSIVE NATURE OF MY EARLY CAREER.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading REVEALS THE EXPLOSIVE NATURE OF MY EARLY CAREER.
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
concerning or affecting a particular person or his or her private life and personality
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
in the recent past
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
make a logical or causal connection
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
unusual or striking
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
third-person singular of “reveal” — make visible
From this reading REVEALS THE EXPLOSIVE NATURE OF MY EARLY CAREER.
express in words
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading A TALE OF MODERN WAR.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
a line or route along which something travels or moves
From this reading IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
soldiers collectively
From this reading IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading A TALE OF MODERN WAR.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The remarkable--I might even say amazing--personal adventures which I am about to relate occurred quite recently.
Chapter 1 of In the Track of the Troops by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne holds 409 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 409 sentences of In the Track of the Troops, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of In the Track of the Troops by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 409 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 In the Track of the Troops by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4133 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21705 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21705, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 344 minutes of reading across 827 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In the Track of the Troops section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of In the Track of the Troops 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 Track of the Troops, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
