Chapter 1 of Sweet Rocket is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Sweet Rocket is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC. The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road. Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened. It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire. Apparently the road knew little use.
Chapter 1 of Sweet Rocket is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 “deepen” — make more intense, stronger, or more marked
From this reading “Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.”
having the power of driving or impelling
From this reading “The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.”
plural of “foe” — an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.”
a major road for any form of motor transport
From this reading “The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.”
(Old Testament) the guardian archangel of the Jews
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.”
English nobleman who deposed Edward II and was executed by Edward III (1287-1330)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.”
not often
From this reading “It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.”
land that is covered with trees and shrubs
From this reading “It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.”
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 “The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.”
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 The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
from appearances alone
From this reading Apparently the road knew little use.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
past form of “deepen” — make more intense, stronger, or more marked
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
having the power of driving or impelling
From this reading The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
start firing a weapon
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
plural of “foe” — an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
a major road for any form of motor transport
From this reading The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Apparently the road knew little use.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
(Old Testament) the guardian archangel of the Jews
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
English nobleman who deposed Edward II and was executed by Edward III (1287-1330)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
large open car seating four with folding top
From this reading The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
possessing material wealth
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
not often
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
term of address for a man
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading AUTHOR OF "SIR MORTIMER" "MICHAEL FORTH" "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" "FOES" ETC.
having come into contact
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
the act of using
From this reading Apparently the road knew little use.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Almost immediately the forest through which they had been passing for a mile or more deepened.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The woman driving turned the phaeton from the highway into a narrow road.
land that is covered with trees and shrubs
From this reading It was now a rich woodland, little cut, seldom touched by fire.
Chapter 1 of Sweet Rocket by Mary Johnston holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 410 sentences of Sweet Rocket, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Sweet Rocket by Mary Johnston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Sweet Rocket by Mary Johnston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3629 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56101 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56101, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sweet Rocket section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Sweet Rocket 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 Sweet Rocket, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
