Chapter 1 of Struggles and Triumphs is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Struggles and Triumphs is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
P. T. BARNUM. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. AUTHOR’S EDITION. [BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.] “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
Chapter 1 of Struggles and Triumphs is here in full — 72 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
the month following March and preceding May
From this reading “[BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.]”
possessive form of “author” — writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
United States showman who popularized the circus (1810-1891)
From this reading “P. T. BARNUM.”
an account of the series of events making up a person's life
From this reading “[BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.]”
plural of “concern” — something that interests you because it is important or affects you
From this reading ““----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.””
the form in which a text (especially a printed book) is published
From this reading “AUTHOR’S EDITION.”
plural of “fluctuation” — a wave motion
From this reading ““----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.””
make a map of; show or establish the features of details of
From this reading ““----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.””
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 ““----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.””
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 [BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.]
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
the month following March and preceding May
From this reading [BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.]
possessive form of “author” — writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR’S EDITION.
United States showman who popularized the circus (1810-1891)
From this reading P. T. BARNUM.
an account of the series of events making up a person's life
From this reading [BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.]
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading [BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.]
plural of “concern” — something that interests you because it is important or affects you
From this reading “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
the form in which a text (especially a printed book) is published
From this reading AUTHOR’S EDITION.
plural of “fluctuation” — a wave motion
From this reading “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
make a map of; show or establish the features of details of
From this reading “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading P. T. BARNUM.
a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading P. T. BARNUM.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.]
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading “----a map of busy life, Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
Chapter 1 of Struggles and Triumphs by P. T. (Phineas Taylor) Barnum holds 72 sentences, grouped into 15 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 72 sentences of Struggles and Triumphs, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Struggles and Triumphs by P. T. (Phineas Taylor) Barnum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 72 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 Struggles and Triumphs by P. T. (Phineas Taylor) Barnum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9294 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50115 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50115, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1859 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Struggles and Triumphs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Struggles and Triumphs 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 Struggles and Triumphs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
