Chapter 1 of On the Iron at Big Cloud is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of On the Iron at Big Cloud is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A. The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk. “Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped. “I’d like to try, uncle.” “Humph!”
Chapter 1 of On the Iron at Big Cloud is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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 lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading “The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.”
past form of “glare” — look at with a fixed gaze
From this reading “The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.”
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading “The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.”
exert pressure or force to or upon
From this reading “Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.”
plural of “printer” — someone whose occupation is printing
From this reading “Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.”
the possibility of future success
From this reading “Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.”
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading ““Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.”
spanning or crossing or on the farther side of a continent
From this reading “The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.”
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 ““Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.”
the highest ranking manager
In this reading “The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.”
In this reading “The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.”
a teenager or a young adult male
In this reading “The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.”
In this reading ““Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.”
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 Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
past form of “glare” — look at with a fixed gaze
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Humph!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’d like to try, uncle.”
immediately past
From this reading “Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “I’d like to try, uncle.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading “Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
exert pressure or force to or upon
From this reading Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.
plural of “printer” — someone whose occupation is printing
From this reading Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.
the possibility of future success
From this reading Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to work as a coherent entity
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I’d like to try, uncle.”
spanning or crossing or on the farther side of a continent
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading “I’d like to try, uncle.”
a base containing nitrogen that is found in RNA (but not in DNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading “I’d like to try, uncle.”
which person or people
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading Prospect Press, Printers New York, U.S.A.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Why, you wouldn’t last three months!” he snapped.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The General Manager of the Transcontinental System glared at the young man who stood facing him across the office desk.
Chapter 1 of On the Iron at Big Cloud by Frank L. (Frank Lucius) Packard holds 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 431 sentences of On the Iron at Big Cloud, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of On the Iron at Big Cloud by Frank L. (Frank Lucius) Packard exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 On the Iron at Big Cloud by Frank L. (Frank Lucius) Packard on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5491 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54111 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54111, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 457 minutes of reading across 1099 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through On the Iron at Big Cloud section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of On the Iron at Big Cloud 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 On the Iron at Big Cloud, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
