Chapter 1 of The Bobbsey Twins is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Bobbsey Twins is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Oh, mamma, what have you brought?" Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway. She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy. Mrs. Bobbsey kissed them all before speaking. "Have you been good while I was gone?" she asked.
Chapter 1 of The Bobbsey Twins is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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 (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading “She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.”
a rich sweet made of flavored sugar and often combined with fruit or nuts
From this reading “She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.”
brought together in one place
From this reading “Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.”
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading “Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “Mrs. Bobbsey kissed them all before speaking.”
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “"Oh, mamma, what have you brought?"”
plural of “package” — a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading “She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.”
(mineralogy) two interwoven crystals that are mirror images on each other
From this reading “Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.”
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 She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Have you been good while I was gone?" she asked.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Have you been good while I was gone?" she asked.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Mrs. Bobbsey kissed them all before speaking.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading "Oh, mamma, what have you brought?"
a rich sweet made of flavored sugar and often combined with fruit or nuts
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
brought together in one place
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
destroyed or killed
From this reading "Have you been good while I was gone?" she asked.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Have you been good while I was gone?" she asked.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Oh, mamma, what have you brought?"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Have you been good while I was gone?" she asked.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading Mrs. Bobbsey kissed them all before speaking.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading "Oh, mamma, what have you brought?"
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, mamma, what have you brought?"
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
plural of “package” — a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading Mrs. Bobbsey kissed them all before speaking.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Mrs. Bobbsey kissed them all before speaking.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
(mineralogy) two interwoven crystals that are mirror images on each other
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
precisely as stated
From this reading She had several small packages in her hands, and one looked very much like a box of candy.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Such was the cry from all of the Bobbsey twins, as they gathered around Mrs. Bobbsey in the hallway.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Oh, mamma, what have you brought?"
during the time that
From this reading "Have you been good while I was gone?" she asked.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Oh, mamma, what have you brought?"
Chapter 1 of The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope holds 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 123 sentences of The Bobbsey Twins, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2520 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17412 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17412, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 210 minutes of reading across 504 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bobbsey Twins section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Bobbsey Twins 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 Bobbsey Twins, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
