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.
Betty Harris looked at him and smiled. She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at. She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well. Then she gave a little nod. “I’m walking home,” she said.
Chapter 1 of Mr. Achilles is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 30/88 · 5 reading units · Lines 146–150
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.
past form of “care” — feel concern or interest
From this reading “She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.”
taking care or paying attention
From this reading “She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.”
United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848-1908)
From this reading “Betty Harris looked at him and smiled.”
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading “She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.”
express or signify by nodding
From this reading “Then she gave a little nod.”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “Betty Harris looked at him and smiled.”
successive (without a break)
From this reading “She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.”
close enough to be walked to
From this reading ““I’m walking home,” she said.”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Betty Harris looked at him and smiled.”
summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
In this reading “She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.”
In this reading ““I’m walking home,” she said.”
In this reading “She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.”
In this reading “She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.”
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 Then she gave a little nod.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Betty Harris looked at him and smiled.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Betty Harris looked at him and smiled.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Betty Harris looked at him and smiled.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
past form of “care” — feel concern or interest
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
taking care or paying attention
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848-1908)
From this reading Betty Harris looked at him and smiled.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Betty Harris looked at him and smiled.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “I’m walking home,” she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’m walking home,” she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Then she gave a little nod.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Betty Harris looked at him and smiled.
held dear
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
express or signify by nodding
From this reading Then she gave a little nod.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I’m walking home,” she said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Betty Harris looked at him and smiled.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
successive (without a break)
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then she gave a little nod.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
close enough to be walked to
From this reading “I’m walking home,” she said.
(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 She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading She had been so carefully brought up that she had not learned that some people were her inferiors and must not be smiled at.
which person or people
From this reading She gave him the straight, sweet smile that those who had cared for her all her life loved so well.
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.
