Chapter 1 of Mary Marston is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Mary Marston is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CUSTOMERS. The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop. From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on. The whole strength of the establishment was early called out. Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.
Chapter 1 of Mary Marston is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
superlative of “busy” — actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.”
plural of “customer” — someone who pays for goods or services
From this reading “CUSTOMERS.”
the act of forming or establishing something
From this reading “The whole strength of the establishment was early called out.”
plural of “farm” — workplace consisting of farm buildings and cultivated land as a unit
From this reading “From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.”
having a common boundary or edge; abutting; touching
From this reading “From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.”
older; higher in rank; longer in length of tenure or service
From this reading “Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.”
an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal
From this reading “Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.”
plural of “village” — a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading “From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.”
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 The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
superlative of “busy” — actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading The whole strength of the establishment was early called out.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
plural of “customer” — someone who pays for goods or services
From this reading CUSTOMERS.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading The whole strength of the establishment was early called out.
the act of forming or establishing something
From this reading The whole strength of the establishment was early called out.
plural of “farm” — workplace consisting of farm buildings and cultivated land as a unit
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.
having a common boundary or edge; abutting; touching
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The whole strength of the establishment was early called out.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The whole strength of the establishment was early called out.
a person's partner in marriage
From this reading Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop.
older; higher in rank; longer in length of tenure or service
From this reading Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.
an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal
From this reading Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.
do one's shopping
From this reading The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop.
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading The whole strength of the establishment was early called out.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Busiest in serving was the senior partner, Mr. Turnbull.
plural of “village” — a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The next day was Saturday, a busy one at the shop.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading From the neighboring villages and farms came customers not a few; and ladies, from the country-seats around, began to arrive as the hours went on.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading The whole strength of the establishment was early called out.
Chapter 1 of Mary Marston by George MacDonald holds 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 103 sentences of Mary Marston, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Mary Marston by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 Mary Marston by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8187 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8201 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8201, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1638 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mary Marston section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Mary Marston 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 Mary Marston, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
