Chapter 1 of Nothing to Eat is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Nothing to Eat is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated. NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.” --“My appetite's none of the best. And so I must pamper the delicate thing.” --The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.
Chapter 1 of Nothing to Eat is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
United States author of inspirational adventure stories for boys; virtue and hard work overcome poverty (1832-1899)
From this reading “By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.”
rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates
From this reading “--The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.”
United States writer of detective thrillers featuring the character of Philip Marlowe (1888-1959)
From this reading “By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.”
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading “By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.”
a slight but appreciable amount
From this reading “--The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.”
bite off very small pieces
From this reading “NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.””
treat with excessive indulgence
From this reading “And so I must pamper the delicate thing.””
be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity
From this reading “--The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.”
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 NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
United States author of inspirational adventure stories for boys; virtue and hard work overcome poverty (1832-1899)
From this reading By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading --“My appetite's none of the best.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading --“My appetite's none of the best.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading --The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.
rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates
From this reading --The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading --The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.
United States writer of detective thrillers featuring the character of Philip Marlowe (1888-1959)
From this reading By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.
exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury
From this reading And so I must pamper the delicate thing.”
savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type
From this reading --The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading --The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
a slight but appreciable amount
From this reading --The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading And so I must pamper the delicate thing.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading --“My appetite's none of the best.
bite off very small pieces
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
not one, and not any
From this reading --“My appetite's none of the best.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
not one thing; not anything
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
treat with excessive indulgence
From this reading And so I must pamper the delicate thing.”
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading --The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading And so I must pamper the delicate thing.”
be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity
From this reading --The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
a special situation
From this reading And so I must pamper the delicate thing.”
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading By Horatio Alger and Thomas Chandler Haliburton Illustrated.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
be dressed in
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading NOT By the Author of “Nothing to Wear” “I'll nibble a little at what I have got.”
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading --The least mite will suffice: A side bone and dressing and bit of the breast.
Chapter 1 of Nothing to Eat by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 193 sentences, grouped into 39 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 193 sentences of Nothing to Eat, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Nothing to Eat by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 193 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Nothing to Eat by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 193 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5868 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5868, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 16 minutes of reading across 39 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nothing to Eat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Nothing to Eat 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 Nothing to Eat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
