Chapter 1 of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 1 is here in full — 1157 sentences across 232 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 1 is here in full — 1157 sentences across 232 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_The Glenmutchkin Railway. By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar. By Col. E. B. Hamley_ _The Iron Shroud. By William Mudford_ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD." BY PROFESSOR AYTOUN.
Chapter 1 of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 1 is here in full — 1157 sentences across 232 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/231 · 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.
very dark wood of any of several blackwood trees
From this reading “By William Mudford_ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."”
location of a colony of the United Kingdom on a limestone promontory at the southern tip of Spain; strategically important because it can control the entrance of ships into the Mediterranean; one of the Pillars of Hercules
From this reading “By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar.”
a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
From this reading “By Col. E. B. Hamley_ _The Iron Shroud.”
a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
From this reading “By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar.”
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading “By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar.”
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading “_The Glenmutchkin Railway.”
cover as if with a shroud
From this reading “By Col. E. B. Hamley_ _The Iron Shroud.”
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “By William Mudford_ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."”
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.
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 By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar.
aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil
From this reading By Col. E. B. Hamley_ _The Iron Shroud.
very dark wood of any of several blackwood trees
From this reading By William Mudford_ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar.
a pass between mountain peaks
From this reading By Col. E. B. Hamley_ _The Iron Shroud.
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading By Col. E. B. Hamley_ _The Iron Shroud.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading By William Mudford_ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
location of a colony of the United Kingdom on a limestone promontory at the southern tip of Spain; strategically important because it can control the entrance of ships into the Mediterranean; one of the Pillars of Hercules
From this reading By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _The Glenmutchkin Railway.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Col. E. B. Hamley_ _The Iron Shroud.
a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
From this reading By Col. E. B. Hamley_ _The Iron Shroud.
a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
From this reading By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By William Mudford_ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading By Professor Aytoun_ _A Legend of Gibraltar.
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading _The Glenmutchkin Railway.
cover as if with a shroud
From this reading By Col. E. B. Hamley_ _The Iron Shroud.
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading By William Mudford_ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _The Glenmutchkin Railway.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By William Mudford_ TALES FROM "BLACKWOOD."
Chapter 1 of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 1 by Various holds 1157 sentences, grouped into 232 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 1157 sentences of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 232 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 1 by Various exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1157 sentences, grouped into 232 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 232 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 232 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 Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 1 by Various on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2668 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31826 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31826, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 222 minutes of reading across 534 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 1 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 Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
