Chapter 1 of Jan of the Windmill: A Story of the Plains is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Jan of the Windmill: A Story of the Plains is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM. THE windmiller went back to his work. He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time. Then the storm abated somewhat. The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.
Chapter 1 of Jan of the Windmill: A Story of the Plains is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
past form of “abate” — make less active or intense
From this reading “Then the storm abated somewhat.”
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading “The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.”
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
From this reading “The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.”
plural of “calculation” — the procedure of calculating; determining something by mathematical or logical methods
From this reading “THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM.”
move about in a confused manner
From this reading “He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.”
possessive form of “miller” — United States bandleader of a popular big band (1909-1944)
past form of “risk” — expose to a chance of loss or damage
From this reading “He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.”
an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists)
From this reading “The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.”
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 He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
past form of “abate” — make less active or intense
From this reading Then the storm abated somewhat.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading THE windmiller went back to his work.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
From this reading The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
plural of “calculation” — the procedure of calculating; determining something by mathematical or logical methods
From this reading THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM.
make calm or still
From this reading THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM.
divisible by two
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
plural of “fear” — an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM.
plural of “hope” — a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
the act of departing
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.
move about in a confused manner
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
possessive form of “miller” — United States bandleader of a popular big band (1909-1944)
From this reading THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
above and across; more than
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
past form of “risk” — expose to a chance of loss or damage
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading Then the storm abated somewhat.
make steady
From this reading The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading Then the storm abated somewhat.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MILLER’S CALCULATIONS.—HIS HOPES AND FEARS.—THE NURSE-BOY.—CALM.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then the storm abated somewhat.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He had risked something over this business in leaving the mill in the hands of others, even for so short a time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE windmiller went back to his work.
an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists)
From this reading The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading THE windmiller went back to his work.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE windmiller went back to his work.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The wind went round, and blew with less violence a fine steady breeze.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading THE windmiller went back to his work.
Chapter 1 of Jan of the Windmill: A Story of the Plains by Juliana Horatia Ewing holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 79 sentences of Jan of the Windmill: A Story of the Plains, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Jan of the Windmill: A Story of the Plains by Juliana Horatia Ewing exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #5601, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 329 minutes of reading across 791 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Jan of the Windmill: A Story of the Plains section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Jan of the Windmill: A Story of the Plains 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 Jan of the Windmill: A Story of the Plains, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
