Chapter 1 of The Blue Raider is here in full — 10 sentences across 2 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Blue Raider is here in full — 10 sentences across 2 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’ (See page 97.) ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’ Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’ ’The Raider!’
Chapter 1 of The Blue Raider is here in full — 10 sentences across 2 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/2 · 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.
plural of “arrow” — a mark to indicate a direction or relation
From this reading “Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’”
-ing form of “click” — move or strike with a noise
From this reading “Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’”
with resolute determination
From this reading “’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’”
humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness
From this reading “’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’”
plural of “prisoner” — a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading “’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’”
someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war)
From this reading “’The Raider!’”
past form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading “’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’”
inflected form of “whiz” — make a soft swishing sound
From this reading “Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’”
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 “’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’”
In this reading “Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’”
In this reading “’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’”
bring forth, usually something desirable
In this reading “’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’”
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 (See page 97.)
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
weapons considered collectively
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
plural of “arrow” — a mark to indicate a direction or relation
From this reading Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’
confined by bonds
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’
-ing form of “click” — move or strike with a noise
From this reading Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’
with resolute determination
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading (See page 97.)
plural of “prisoner” — a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war)
From this reading ’The Raider!’
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading (See page 97.)
plural of “side” — a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
not in physical motion
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
past form of “stumble” — walk unsteadily
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading ’Come up and have a look at this, Meek’ ’Now ’s the time!’
inflected form of “whiz” — make a soft swishing sound
From this reading Up and up, foot by foot, arrows whizzing and clicking ’Feel better?’
in the company of; together with
From this reading ’With their arms still bound firmly to their sides, the prisoners stumbled through the forest.’
Chapter 1 of The Blue Raider by Herbert Strang holds 10 sentences, grouped into 2 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 10 sentences of The Blue Raider, unabridged, divided into 2 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Blue Raider by Herbert Strang exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 10 sentences, grouped into 2 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 2 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 2 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 Blue Raider by Herbert Strang on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4194 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40364 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40364, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 349 minutes of reading across 839 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Blue Raider section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Blue Raider 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 Blue Raider, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
