Chapter 1 of Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887 is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887 is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857. "What!" you say, "eighteen fifty-seven? That is an odd slip. He means nineteen fifty-seven, of course." I beg pardon, but there is no mistake.
Chapter 1 of Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887 is here in full — 106 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That is an odd slip.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I beg pardon, but there is no mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I beg pardon, but there is no mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He means nineteen fifty-seven, of course."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What!" you say, "eighteen fifty-seven?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What!" you say, "eighteen fifty-seven?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He means nineteen fifty-seven, of course."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That is an odd slip.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He means nineteen fifty-seven, of course."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I beg pardon, but there is no mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He means nineteen fifty-seven, of course."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I beg pardon, but there is no mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That is an odd slip.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I beg pardon, but there is no mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What!" you say, "eighteen fifty-seven?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That is an odd slip.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That is an odd slip.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I beg pardon, but there is no mistake.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What!" you say, "eighteen fifty-seven?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What!" you say, "eighteen fifty-seven?
Chapter 1 of Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887 by Edward Bellamy holds 106 sentences, grouped into 22 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 106 sentences of Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887 by Edward Bellamy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 106 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887 by Edward Bellamy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3150 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #624 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #624, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 262 minutes of reading across 630 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887 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 Looking Backward, 2000 to 1887, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
