Chapter 1 of Preferred Position is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Preferred Position is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Does your job bore you? Are you just plain tired of working for a living? Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!... The bed woke them. "Time to get up, dears," it cooed.
Chapter 1 of Preferred Position is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
cause to be bored
From this reading “Does your job bore you?”
past form of “coo” — speak softly or lovingly
From this reading “"Time to get up, dears," it cooed.”
in a willing manner
From this reading “Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...”
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading “Does your job bore you?”
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading “Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...”
the commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or international markets) of goods and services
From this reading “Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...”
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “The bed woke them.”
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading “Are you just plain tired of working for a living?”
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.
rise to one's feet
In this reading “"Time to get up, dears," it cooed.”
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 Are you just plain tired of working for a living?
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Are you just plain tired of working for a living?
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading The bed woke them.
cause to be bored
From this reading Does your job bore you?
past form of “coo” — speak softly or lovingly
From this reading "Time to get up, dears," it cooed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Time to get up, dears," it cooed.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Does your job bore you?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Are you just plain tired of working for a living?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...
yet to be or coming
From this reading Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Time to get up, dears," it cooed.
in a willing manner
From this reading Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Time to get up, dears," it cooed.
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
From this reading Does your job bore you?
and nothing more
From this reading Are you just plain tired of working for a living?
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading Are you just plain tired of working for a living?
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...
come together
From this reading Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Are you just plain tired of working for a living?
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading Are you just plain tired of working for a living?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The bed woke them.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "Time to get up, dears," it cooed.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading Are you just plain tired of working for a living?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Time to get up, dears," it cooed.
the commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or international markets) of goods and services
From this reading Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Time to get up, dears," it cooed.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well meet a man from the future--who'd gladly trade places!...
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading The bed woke them.
actively engaged in paid work
From this reading Are you just plain tired of working for a living?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Does your job bore you?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Does your job bore you?
Chapter 1 of Preferred Position by Dave Dryfoos holds 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 154 sentences of Preferred Position, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Preferred Position by Dave Dryfoos exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 Preferred Position by Dave Dryfoos on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Preferred Position section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Preferred Position 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 Preferred Position, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
