Chapter 1 of Tea Tray in the Sky is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Tea Tray in the Sky is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it. A 40 credit tour is no substitute! The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay. A haggard blonde woman sprawled apathetically in a chair. "Rundown, nervous, hypertensive?" inquired a mellifluous voice.
Chapter 1 of Tea Tray in the Sky is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
a person with fair skin and hair
From this reading “A haggard blonde woman sprawled apathetically in a chair.”
a person who has abnormally high blood pressure
From this reading “"Rundown, nervous, hypertensive?" inquired a mellifluous voice.”
provided with artificial light
From this reading “The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.”
sheet that forms a distinct (usually flat and rectangular) section or component of something
From this reading “The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.”
a concluding summary (as in presenting a case before a law court)
From this reading “"Rundown, nervous, hypertensive?" inquired a mellifluous voice.”
past form of “sprawl” — sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
From this reading “A haggard blonde woman sprawled apathetically in a chair.”
put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items
From this reading “A 40 credit tour is no substitute!”
comparative of “tough” — not given to gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading “Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A 40 credit tour is no substitute!
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.
in an apathetic manner
From this reading A haggard blonde woman sprawled apathetically in a chair.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.
a person with fair skin and hair
From this reading A haggard blonde woman sprawled apathetically in a chair.
brought into existence
From this reading Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading A haggard blonde woman sprawled apathetically in a chair.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
approval
From this reading A 40 credit tour is no substitute!
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading A haggard blonde woman sprawled apathetically in a chair.
a person who has abnormally high blood pressure
From this reading "Rundown, nervous, hypertensive?" inquired a mellifluous voice.
provided with artificial light
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A haggard blonde woman sprawled apathetically in a chair.
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading "Rundown, nervous, hypertensive?" inquired a mellifluous voice.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
pleasing to the ear
From this reading "Rundown, nervous, hypertensive?" inquired a mellifluous voice.
(Old Testament) the guardian archangel of the Jews
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
easily agitated
From this reading "Rundown, nervous, hypertensive?" inquired a mellifluous voice.
not any; not one
From this reading A 40 credit tour is no substitute!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
sheet that forms a distinct (usually flat and rectangular) section or component of something
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
a concluding summary (as in presenting a case before a law court)
From this reading "Rundown, nervous, hypertensive?" inquired a mellifluous voice.
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.
past form of “sprawl” — sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
From this reading A haggard blonde woman sprawled apathetically in a chair.
put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items
From this reading A 40 credit tour is no substitute!
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
comparative of “tough” — not given to gentleness or sentimentality
From this reading Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.
a journey or route all the way around a particular place or area
From this reading A 40 credit tour is no substitute!
the activity of making visits
From this reading Visiting a society is tougher than being born into it.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "Rundown, nervous, hypertensive?" inquired a mellifluous voice.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The picture changed on the illuminated panel that filled the forward end of the shelf on which Michael lay.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading A haggard blonde woman sprawled apathetically in a chair.
Chapter 1 of Tea Tray in the Sky by Evelyn E. Smith holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of Tea Tray in the Sky, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Tea Tray in the Sky by Evelyn E. Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Tea Tray in the Sky by Evelyn E. Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 420 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50847 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50847, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 35 minutes of reading across 84 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tea Tray in the Sky section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Tea Tray in the Sky 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 Tea Tray in the Sky, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
