Chapter 1 of Janice Day, the Young Homemaker is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Janice Day, the Young Homemaker is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why, that is Arlo Junior. What can he be doing out of doors so early? And look at those cats following him. Did you ever!" Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
Chapter 1 of Janice Day, the Young Homemaker is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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 room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading “Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.”
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading “Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.”
plural of “cat” — feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading “And look at those cats following him.”
traveling across
From this reading “Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.”
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading “Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.”
term of address for a disrespectful and annoying male
From this reading “"Why, that is Arlo Junior.”
plural of “kitten” — young domestic cat
From this reading “Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.”
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 Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And look at those cats following him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why, that is Arlo Junior.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading And look at those cats following him.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading What can he be doing out of doors so early?
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
a youthful male person
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading What can he be doing out of doors so early?
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
plural of “cat” — feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading And look at those cats following him.
traveling across
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Did you ever!"
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading What can he be doing out of doors so early?
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading What can he be doing out of doors so early?
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading What can he be doing out of doors so early?
at any time
From this reading Did you ever!"
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading And look at those cats following him.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading What can he be doing out of doors so early?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And look at those cats following him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Why, that is Arlo Junior.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
term of address for a disrespectful and annoying male
From this reading "Why, that is Arlo Junior.
plural of “kitten” — young domestic cat
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading And look at those cats following him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What can he be doing out of doors so early?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading What can he be doing out of doors so early?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading What can he be doing out of doors so early?
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Why, that is Arlo Junior.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading And look at those cats following him.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What can he be doing out of doors so early?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, that is Arlo Junior.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
in a curious and questioning manner
From this reading Janice Day stared wonderingly from her front bedroom window at the boy crossing the street in the dim pre-dawn light, with a cat and three half-grown kittens gamboling about him.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Did you ever!"
Chapter 1 of Janice Day, the Young Homemaker by Helen Beecher Long holds 209 sentences, grouped into 42 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 209 sentences of Janice Day, the Young Homemaker, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Janice Day, the Young Homemaker by Helen Beecher Long exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 209 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 Janice Day, the Young Homemaker by Helen Beecher Long on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5191 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2483 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2483, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 432 minutes of reading across 1039 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Janice Day, the Young Homemaker section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Janice Day, the Young Homemaker 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 Janice Day, the Young Homemaker, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
