Chapter 1 of Melody : The Story of a Child is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Melody : The Story of a Child is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CHILD. "Well, there!" said Miss Vesta. "The child has a wonderful gift, that is certain. Just listen to her, Rejoice! You never heard our canary sing like that!"
Chapter 1 of Melody : The Story of a Child is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
From this reading “You never heard our canary sing like that!"”
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading “"The child has a wonderful gift, that is certain.”
something acquired without compensation
From this reading “"The child has a wonderful gift, that is certain.”
hear with intention
From this reading “Just listen to her, Rejoice!”
feel happiness or joy
From this reading “Just listen to her, Rejoice!”
deliver by singing
From this reading “You never heard our canary sing like that!"”
(Roman mythology) goddess of the hearth and its fire whose flame was tended by vestal virgins; counterpart of Greek Hestia
From this reading “"Well, there!" said Miss Vesta.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “"The child has a wonderful gift, that is certain.”
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 child has a wonderful gift, that is certain.
someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
From this reading You never heard our canary sing like that!"
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading "The child has a wonderful gift, that is certain.
a young person of either sex
From this reading THE CHILD.
something acquired without compensation
From this reading "The child has a wonderful gift, that is certain.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The child has a wonderful gift, that is certain.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading You never heard our canary sing like that!"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Just listen to her, Rejoice!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The child has a wonderful gift, that is certain.
and nothing more
From this reading Just listen to her, Rejoice!
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading You never heard our canary sing like that!"
hear with intention
From this reading Just listen to her, Rejoice!
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "Well, there!" said Miss Vesta.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading You never heard our canary sing like that!"
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading You never heard our canary sing like that!"
feel happiness or joy
From this reading Just listen to her, Rejoice!
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well, there!" said Miss Vesta.
deliver by singing
From this reading You never heard our canary sing like that!"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "The child has a wonderful gift, that is certain.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CHILD.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Well, there!" said Miss Vesta.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Just listen to her, Rejoice!
(Roman mythology) goddess of the hearth and its fire whose flame was tended by vestal virgins; counterpart of Greek Hestia
From this reading "Well, there!" said Miss Vesta.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, there!" said Miss Vesta.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading "The child has a wonderful gift, that is certain.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You never heard our canary sing like that!"
Chapter 1 of Melody : The Story of a Child by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards holds 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 114 sentences of Melody : The Story of a Child, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Melody : The Story of a Child by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 Melody : The Story of a Child by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1424 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7824 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7824, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 118 minutes of reading across 285 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Melody : The Story of a Child section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Melody : The Story of a Child 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 Melody : The Story of a Child, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
