Chapter 1 of Mr. Achilles is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Mr. Achilles is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence. When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.” But then something happened to Betty Harris. The spirit of the spring day caught her and lifted her out of herself. Men were hurrying by with light step.
Chapter 1 of Mr. Achilles is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 27/88 · 5 reading units · Lines 131–135
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 hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.”
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.”
lifting device consisting of a platform or cage that is raised and lowered mechanically in a vertical shaft in order to move people from one floor to another in a building
From this reading “She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.”
United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848-1908)
From this reading “But then something happened to Betty Harris.”
moving with great haste
From this reading “Men were hurrying by with light step.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.”
that is looked for
From this reading “When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.””
impressive in appearance
From this reading “She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Men were hurrying by with light step.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But then something happened to Betty Harris.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But then something happened to Betty Harris.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Men were hurrying by with light step.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading The spirit of the spring day caught her and lifted her out of herself.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The spirit of the spring day caught her and lifted her out of herself.
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
lifting device consisting of a platform or cage that is raised and lowered mechanically in a vertical shaft in order to move people from one floor to another in a building
From this reading She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading But then something happened to Betty Harris.
United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848-1908)
From this reading But then something happened to Betty Harris.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading The spirit of the spring day caught her and lifted her out of herself.
moving with great haste
From this reading Men were hurrying by with light step.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.
held up in the air
From this reading The spirit of the spring day caught her and lifted her out of herself.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Men were hurrying by with light step.
the force of workers available
From this reading Men were hurrying by with light step.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.
cut with a saw
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading But then something happened to Betty Harris.
that is looked for
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
the vital principle or animating force within living things
From this reading The spirit of the spring day caught her and lifted her out of herself.
the season of growth
From this reading The spirit of the spring day caught her and lifted her out of herself.
impressive in appearance
From this reading She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading Men were hurrying by with light step.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
successive (without a break)
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She rang the elevator bell and descended in stately silence.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading But then something happened to Betty Harris.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But then something happened to Betty Harris.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Men were hurrying by with light step.
at the time that
From this reading When she stepped out of the great door of the building she saw, straight before her, the sign she sought--“Pay Station.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading Men were hurrying by with light step.
Chapter 1 of Mr. Achilles by Jennette Lee holds 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 443 sentences of Mr. Achilles, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Mr. Achilles by Jennette Lee exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Mr. Achilles by Jennette Lee on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2874 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4714 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4714, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 239 minutes of reading across 575 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mr. Achilles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Mr. Achilles 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 Mr. Achilles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
