Chapter 1 of Sky Island is here in full — 189 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 Sky Island is here in full — 189 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Hello," said the boy. "Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised. "Where did you come from?" "Philadelphia," said he. "Dear me," said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then."
Chapter 1 of Sky Island is here in full — 189 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.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “"Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised.”
a youthful male person
From this reading “"Hello," said the boy.”
dearly loved
From this reading “"Dear me," said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then."”
an expression of greeting
From this reading “"Hello," said the boy.”
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading “"Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised.”
the largest city in Pennsylvania; located in the southeastern part of the state on the Delaware river; site of Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed; site of the University of Pennsylvania
From this reading “"Philadelphia," said he.”
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “"Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised.”
run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading “"Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised.”
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 "Dear me," said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then."
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised.
a youthful male person
From this reading "Hello," said the boy.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Where did you come from?"
dearly loved
From this reading "Dear me," said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then."
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Where did you come from?"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Where did you come from?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Philadelphia," said he.
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hello," said the boy.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "Dear me," said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then."
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "Dear me," said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then."
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading "Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Dear me," said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then."
the largest city in Pennsylvania; located in the southeastern part of the state on the Delaware river; site of Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed; site of the University of Pennsylvania
From this reading "Philadelphia," said he.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Hello," said the boy.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading "Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Hello," said the boy.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Dear me," said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then."
run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading "Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Hello," answered Trot, looking up surprised.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "Dear me," said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then."
in or at the place that
From this reading "Where did you come from?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Where did you come from?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Dear me," said Trot, "you're a long way from home, then."
Chapter 1 of Sky Island by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum holds 189 sentences, grouped into 38 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 189 sentences of Sky Island, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Sky Island by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 189 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 Sky Island by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3181 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4356 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4356, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 265 minutes of reading across 637 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sky Island section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Sky 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 Sky Island, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
