Chapter 1 of Pearl of Pearl Island is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Pearl of Pearl Island is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Oh, dear me, no! Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts! It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge. "Partly,--and I was just about to say so when you interrupted me--" "Ay! Were you now?
Chapter 1 of Pearl of Pearl Island is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 9/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 41–45
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.
German statesman who as chancellor of West Germany worked to reduce tensions with eastern Europe (1913-1992)
From this reading “It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.”
take exception to
From this reading “It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.”
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading “Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!”
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading “Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!”
a musical organization consisting of a group of instrumentalists including string players
From this reading “Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!”
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading “Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!”
the underside of footwear or a golf club
From this reading “Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!”
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading “It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.”
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 It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Partly,--and I was just about to say so when you interrupted me--" "Ay!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Partly,--and I was just about to say so when you interrupted me--" "Ay!
German statesman who as chancellor of West Germany worked to reduce tensions with eastern Europe (1913-1992)
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
take exception to
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
dearly loved
From this reading "Oh, dear me, no!
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
opinion or judgment
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Partly,--and I was just about to say so when you interrupted me--" "Ay!
discontinued temporarily
From this reading "Partly,--and I was just about to say so when you interrupted me--" "Ay!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
and nothing more
From this reading "Partly,--and I was just about to say so when you interrupted me--" "Ay!
a person who rules or guides or inspires others
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Oh, dear me, no!
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
not any; not one
From this reading "Oh, dear me, no!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Were you now?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, dear me, no!
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
a musical organization consisting of a group of instrumentalists including string players
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
to some extent; in some degree; not wholly
From this reading "Partly,--and I was just about to say so when you interrupted me--" "Ay!
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
express in words
From this reading "Partly,--and I was just about to say so when you interrupted me--" "Ay!
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Partly,--and I was just about to say so when you interrupted me--" "Ay!
the underside of footwear or a golf club
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
make steady
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Leader of the orchestra!--Proprietor of the house!--Sole director and manager and--" "Tuts!
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Were you now?
at the time that
From this reading "Partly,--and I was just about to say so when you interrupted me--" "Ay!
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading It was Margaret Brandt you came to see," and the twinkling brown eyes held the merry gray ones with a steady challenge.
Chapter 1 of Pearl of Pearl Island by John Oxenham holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 416 sentences of Pearl of Pearl Island, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Pearl of Pearl Island by John Oxenham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Pearl of Pearl Island by John Oxenham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4149 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15259 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15259, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 345 minutes of reading across 830 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Pearl of Pearl Island section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Pearl of Pearl Island 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 Pearl of Pearl Island, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
