Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk is here in full — 544 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk is here in full — 544 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee. That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble. He won't keep still. No, Sir, he won't keep still unless he is made to. Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk is here in full — 544 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/108 · 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.
any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading “Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.”
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
From this reading “Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.”
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.”
for a limitless time
From this reading “That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.”
(folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
From this reading “Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.”
reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
From this reading “Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.”
the provincial capital and largest city in Ontario (and the largest city in Canada)
From this reading “Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.”
misery resulting from affliction
From this reading “Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.”
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 Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
for a limitless time
From this reading That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He won't keep still.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
(folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading He won't keep still.
evidencing the possession of inside information
From this reading Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading No, Sir, he won't keep still unless he is made to.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
not any; not one
From this reading No, Sir, he won't keep still unless he is made to.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
on one occasion
From this reading Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.
term of address for a man
From this reading No, Sir, he won't keep still unless he is made to.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
not in physical motion
From this reading He won't keep still.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No, Sir, he won't keep still unless he is made to.
the provincial capital and largest city in Ontario (and the largest city in Canada)
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
a source of difficulty
From this reading That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.
except if; if not
From this reading No, Sir, he won't keep still unless he is made to.
in or at the place that
From this reading Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Once let him get started there is no knowing where he will stop.
misery resulting from affliction
From this reading Little, Brown and Company Boston Toronto The Imp of Mischief, woe is me, Is always busy as a bee.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He won't keep still.
Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 544 sentences, grouped into 109 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 544 sentences of The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk, unabridged, divided into 109 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 544 sentences, grouped into 109 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 109 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 109 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 The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1074 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21015 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21015, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 89 minutes of reading across 215 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk 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 The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
