Chapter 1 of Our Pets is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Our Pets is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LONDON AND NEW YORK. Kronheim & Co., London. OUR PETS. This is Pol-ly's own cat, Top-sy. She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
Chapter 1 of Our Pets is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading “This is Pol-ly's own cat, Top-sy.”
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading “LONDON AND NEW YORK.”
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading “She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.”
plural of “pet” — a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading “OUR PETS.”
participate in games or sport
From this reading “She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.”
assume a prim appearance
From this reading “She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.”
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading “She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.”
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 “LONDON AND NEW YORK.”
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 She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading LONDON AND NEW YORK.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading This is Pol-ly's own cat, Top-sy.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading Kronheim & Co., London.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This is Pol-ly's own cat, Top-sy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kronheim & Co., London.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading LONDON AND NEW YORK.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading LONDON AND NEW YORK.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading OUR PETS.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading This is Pol-ly's own cat, Top-sy.
plural of “pet” — a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading OUR PETS.
participate in games or sport
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This is Pol-ly's own cat, Top-sy.
assume a prim appearance
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This is Pol-ly's own cat, Top-sy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This is Pol-ly's own cat, Top-sy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
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 LONDON AND NEW YORK.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading She looks ve-ry prim and quiet; but if you play with her, you will find she is a ve-ry mer-ry lit-tle cat.
Chapter 1 of Our Pets by Anonymous holds 72 sentences, grouped into 15 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 72 sentences of Our Pets, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Our Pets by Anonymous exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 72 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 Pets by Anonymous on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 72 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #23401 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #23401, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 6 minutes of reading across 15 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Our Pets section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Our Pets 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 Pets, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
