Chapter 1 of Our People is here in full — 461 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Our People is here in full — 461 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?" =Uncle.= "GOUT! SHTUFF AN' NONSHENSH! NOT A BIT OF IT! NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
Chapter 1 of Our People is here in full — 461 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/92 · 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 small piece or quantity of something
From this reading “NOT A BIT OF IT!”
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading “NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"”
a painful inflammation of the big toe and foot caused by defects in uric acid metabolism resulting in deposits of the acid and its salts in the blood and joints
From this reading “Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"”
artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading “Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"”
a son of your brother or sister
From this reading “Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"”
closely constrained or constricted or constricting
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading “Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"”
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.
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 A BIT OF IT!
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading SHTUFF AN' NONSHENSH!
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading NOT A BIT OF IT!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
a painful inflammation of the big toe and foot caused by defects in uric acid metabolism resulting in deposits of the acid and its salts in the blood and joints
From this reading Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"
artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"
engage in
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
a son of your brother or sister
From this reading Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"
not any; not one
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SHTUFF AN' NONSHENSH!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading NOT A BIT OF IT!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading NOT A BIT OF IT!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
express in words
From this reading Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SHTUFF AN' NONSHENSH!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading Illustration: "_Never Say 'Die'_" =Nephew.= "SURE IT ISN'T GOUT, UNCLE?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading NO, FACT IS--PHEW--(_winces_) THESE CON-FOUNDED BOOTMAKERS--THEY MAKE YOUR BOOTS SO _TIGHT_!!"
Chapter 1 of Our People by Charles Keene holds 461 sentences, grouped into 93 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 461 sentences of Our People, unabridged, divided into 93 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Our People by Charles Keene exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 461 sentences, grouped into 93 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 93 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 93 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 Our People by Charles Keene on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1404 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41057 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41057, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 117 minutes of reading across 281 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Our People section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Our People 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 Our People, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
