Chapter 1 of In Touch with Nature is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of In Touch with Nature is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction. Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill? I tried my utmost, but utterly failed. Then my mind was made up. There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
Chapter 1 of In Touch with Nature is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 11/88 · 5 reading units · Lines 51–55
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.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading “Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?”
examine so as to determine accuracy, quality, or condition
From this reading “Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?”
the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists
From this reading “To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.”
a long narrow excavation in the earth
From this reading “There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.”
plural of “hedge” — a fence formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes
From this reading “There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.”
female equine animal
From this reading “Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?”
of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
From this reading “I tried my utmost, but utterly failed.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “I tried my utmost, but utterly failed.”
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 “To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.”
In this reading “To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I tried my utmost, but utterly failed.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
examine so as to determine accuracy, quality, or condition
From this reading Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?
the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
a long narrow excavation in the earth
From this reading There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading I tried my utmost, but utterly failed.
plural of “hedge” — a fence formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes
From this reading There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Then my mind was made up.
female equine animal
From this reading Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Then my mind was made up.
in motion
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I tried my utmost, but utterly failed.
not any; not one
From this reading There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?
a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading Could I check the mare before we reached the brow of the hill?
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
carry out
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then my mind was made up.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were broad hedges at each side of the road, and no ditch between.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading I tried my utmost, but utterly failed.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Then my mind was made up.
of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
From this reading I tried my utmost, but utterly failed.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading I tried my utmost, but utterly failed.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Then my mind was made up.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading To attempt to take it, at the rate we were now moving, would be certain destruction.
Chapter 1 of In Touch with Nature by Gordon Stables holds 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 443 sentences of In Touch with Nature, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of In Touch with Nature by Gordon Stables exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Touch with Nature by Gordon Stables on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2637 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37251 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37251, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 219 minutes of reading across 528 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In Touch with Nature section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of In Touch with Nature 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 Touch with Nature, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
