Chapter 1 of Robin's Rambles is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Robin's Rambles is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Illustration: This Book Belongs To. Illustration: Robin Feeding Young. Illustration: Harvest Mice. Illustration: Robin's Rambles. Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
Chapter 1 of Robin's Rambles is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
From this reading “Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.”
the act of consuming food
From this reading “Illustration: Robin Feeding Young.”
the yield from plants in a single growing season
From this reading “Illustration: Harvest Mice.”
artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading “Illustration: This Book Belongs To.”
plural of “mouse” — any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading “Illustration: Harvest Mice.”
possessive form of “robin” — small Old World songbird with a reddish breast
From this reading “Illustration: Robin's Rambles.”
the complete duration of something
From this reading “Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.”
(used informally) very small
From this reading “Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.”
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.
In this reading “Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.”
in reality or actuality
In this reading “Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.”
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 Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
third-person singular of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading Illustration: This Book Belongs To.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading Illustration: This Book Belongs To.
affecting extreme elegance in dress and manner
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
the act of consuming food
From this reading Illustration: Robin Feeding Young.
the yield from plants in a single growing season
From this reading Illustration: Harvest Mice.
artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading Illustration: This Book Belongs To.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
plural of “mouse” — any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading Illustration: Harvest Mice.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
clean or organized
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
a human being
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Illustration: Robin's Rambles.
small Old World songbird with a reddish breast
From this reading Illustration: Robin Feeding Young.
possessive form of “robin” — small Old World songbird with a reddish breast
From this reading Illustration: Robin's Rambles.
express in words
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
the complete duration of something
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
(ethnic slur) offensive term for persons of Latin American descent
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Illustration: This Book Belongs To.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Illustration: This Book Belongs To.
precisely as stated
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
(used informally) very small
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Robin was a very spick and span little person: always neat and dapper, in fact a wee bit dandified, you might say.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Illustration: Robin Feeding Young.
Chapter 1 of Robin's Rambles by May Byron holds 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 191 sentences of Robin's Rambles, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Robin's Rambles by May Byron exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Robin's Rambles by May Byron on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 191 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38504 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38504, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 15 minutes of reading across 39 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Robin's Rambles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Robin's Rambles 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 Robin's Rambles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
