Chapter 1 of Sandburrs is here in full — 848 sentences across 170 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Sandburrs is here in full — 848 sentences across 170 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of “Wolfville,” etc. Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless. Therefore this volume of sketches is named Sandburrs. Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book. There's scant propriety of it.
Chapter 1 of Sandburrs is here in full — 848 sentences across 170 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/169 · 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.
acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
From this reading “Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.”
in a grievous manner
From this reading “Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.”
causing irritation or annoyance
From this reading “Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.”
correct or appropriate behavior
From this reading “There's scant propriety of it.”
less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
From this reading “There's scant propriety of it.”
plural of “sketch” — preliminary drawing for later elaboration
From this reading “Therefore this volume of sketches is named Sandburrs.”
third-person singular of “stoke” — stir up or tend; of a fire
From this reading “Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.”
edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant
From this reading “Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.”
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 “Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.”
In this reading “Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.”
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 Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
From this reading Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of “Wolfville,” etc.
aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.
the time when something begins (especially life)
From this reading Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of “Wolfville,” etc.
people in general (often used in the plural)
From this reading Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.
a town in northern Maryland to the west of Baltimore
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
in a grievous manner
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry (65-8 BC)
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
causing irritation or annoyance
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There's scant propriety of it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
past form of “name” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Therefore this volume of sketches is named Sandburrs.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of “Wolfville,” etc.
correct or appropriate behavior
From this reading There's scant propriety of it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Therefore this volume of sketches is named Sandburrs.
less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
From this reading There's scant propriety of it.
plural of “sketch” — preliminary drawing for later elaboration
From this reading Therefore this volume of sketches is named Sandburrs.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.
third-person singular of “stoke” — stir up or tend; of a fire
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
United States composer and music critic (1885-1966)
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's scant propriety of it.
for that reason; as a result
From this reading Therefore this volume of sketches is named Sandburrs.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Therefore this volume of sketches is named Sandburrs.
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant
From this reading Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading Therefore this volume of sketches is named Sandburrs.
which person or people
From this reading Some folk there be who apologize for the birth of a book.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of “Wolfville,” etc.
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 Illustrated by Horace Taylor and George B. Luks New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company A SANDBURR is a foolish, small vegetable, irritating and grievously useless.
Chapter 1 of Sandburrs by Alfred Henry Lewis holds 848 sentences, grouped into 170 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 848 sentences of Sandburrs, unabridged, divided into 170 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Sandburrs by Alfred Henry Lewis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 848 sentences, grouped into 170 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 170 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 170 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 Sandburrs by Alfred Henry Lewis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5260 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51981 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51981, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 438 minutes of reading across 1052 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sandburrs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of Sandburrs 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 Sandburrs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
