Chapter 1 of Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Set up and electrotyped May, 1902. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A. The old white curtain was slightly too short. Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
Chapter 1 of Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
a line that indicates a boundary
From this reading “Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.”
soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state
From this reading “Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.”
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “The old white curtain was slightly too short.”
United States neurologist noted for his study of the brain and pituitary gland and who identified Cushing's syndrome (1869-1939)
From this reading “Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass.”
a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water
From this reading “Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.”
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading “Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.”
strange in an interesting or pleasing way
From this reading “Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.”
plural of “snowball” — plant having heads of fragrant white trumpet-shaped flowers; grows in sandy arid regions
From this reading “Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.”
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 “Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.”
In this reading “The old white curtain was slightly too short.”
set up or found
In this reading “Set up and electrotyped May, 1902.”
In this reading “The old white curtain was slightly too short.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Set up and electrotyped May, 1902.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading U.S.A.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Set up and electrotyped May, 1902.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass.
a line that indicates a boundary
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
rid of obstructions
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass.
soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading The old white curtain was slightly too short.
United States neurologist noted for his study of the brain and pituitary gland and who identified Cushing's syndrome (1869-1939)
From this reading Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Set up and electrotyped May, 1902.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
From this reading Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass.
a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Set up and electrotyped May, 1902.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old white curtain was slightly too short.
exert pressure or force to or upon
From this reading Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass.
strange in an interesting or pleasing way
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Set up and electrotyped May, 1902.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading The old white curtain was slightly too short.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading The old white curtain was slightly too short.
Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass.
plural of “snowball” — plant having heads of fragrant white trumpet-shaped flowers; grows in sandy arid regions
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
inflected form of “swing” — move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The old white curtain was slightly too short.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The old white curtain was slightly too short.
a base containing nitrogen that is found in RNA (but not in DNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading U.S.A.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Set up and electrotyped May, 1902.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The old white curtain was slightly too short.
a Caucasian
From this reading The old white curtain was slightly too short.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Its quaint border of little cotton snowballs swung clear of the window ledge, letting in the sunbeams.
Chapter 1 of Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century by Nancy Huston Banks holds 444 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 444 sentences of Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century by Nancy Huston Banks exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 444 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 Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century by Nancy Huston Banks on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4361 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35239 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35239, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 363 minutes of reading across 873 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century 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 Oldfield: A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
