Chapter 1 of Reject is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Reject is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection.... How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks. The sight of them made Mr. Ames even madder. "Look at him," he stormed, turning to Martha. "Just look at him.
Chapter 1 of Reject is here in full — 187 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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 learning process in which an organism's behavior becomes dependent on the occurrence of a stimulus in its environment
From this reading “How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.”
rounded like an egg
From this reading “How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.”
determined or actuated by emotion rather than reason
From this reading “How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.”
plural of “fist” — a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading “How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.”
Eurasian herb having small yellow flowers and red roots formerly an important source of the dye alizarin
From this reading “The sight of them made Mr. Ames even madder.”
not prepared or vigilant
From this reading “_The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....”
plural of “official” — a worker who holds or is invested with an office
From this reading “_The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....”
past form of “storm” — behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading “"Look at him," he stormed, turning to Martha.”
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “"Look at him," he stormed, turning to Martha.”
In this reading “How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sight of them made Mr. Ames even madder.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Look at him," he stormed, turning to Martha.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading _The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
closed or squeezed together tightly
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
a learning process in which an organism's behavior becomes dependent on the occurrence of a stimulus in its environment
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading _The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
rounded like an egg
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
determined or actuated by emotion rather than reason
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
divisible by two
From this reading The sight of them made Mr. Ames even madder.
make plain and comprehensible
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
plural of “fist” — a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading _The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Look at him," he stormed, turning to Martha.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Look at him," he stormed, turning to Martha.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
a formal or official examination
From this reading _The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....
and nothing more
From this reading "Just look at him.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Look at him," he stormed, turning to Martha.
Eurasian herb having small yellow flowers and red roots formerly an important source of the dye alizarin
From this reading The sight of them made Mr. Ames even madder.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The sight of them made Mr. Ames even madder.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Look at him," he stormed, turning to Martha.
a form of address for a man
From this reading The sight of them made Mr. Ames even madder.
not prepared or vigilant
From this reading _The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The sight of them made Mr. Ames even madder.
plural of “official” — a worker who holds or is invested with an office
From this reading _The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading _The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading The sight of them made Mr. Ames even madder.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
past form of “storm” — behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading "Look at him," he stormed, turning to Martha.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _The officials had been napping the day Donnie passed inspection....
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The sight of them made Mr. Ames even madder.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading "Look at him," he stormed, turning to Martha.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading How else could you explain such an error in his emotional conditioning?_ Donnie clenched his small fists and tried not to cry, but two elliptical tears ran slowly down his cheeks.
Chapter 1 of Reject by John Johnson holds 187 sentences, grouped into 38 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 187 sentences of Reject, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Reject by John Johnson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 187 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 Reject by John Johnson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 187 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59495 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59495, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 15 minutes of reading across 38 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Reject section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Reject 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 Reject, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
