Chapter 1 of The champion is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The champion is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window. Yet the traffic in the streets was unchecked. The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor. Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels. The sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians.
Chapter 1 of The champion is here in full — 204 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
past form of “alternate” — go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions
From this reading “Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.”
make loud demands
From this reading “The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor.”
having a loud resonant metallic sound
From this reading “The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor.”
plural of “pedestrian” — a person who travels by foot
From this reading “The sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians.”
plural of “sidewalk” — walk consisting of a paved area for pedestrians; usually beside a street or roadway
From this reading “The sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians.”
not restrained or controlled
From this reading “Yet the traffic in the streets was unchecked.”
plural of “van” — any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading “Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.”
inflected form of “whiz” — make a soft swishing sound
From this reading “The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor.”
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 “Yet the traffic in the streets was unchecked.”
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 _Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor.
past form of “alternate” — go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor.
plural of “carriage” — a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
make loud demands
From this reading The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor.
having a loud resonant metallic sound
From this reading The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor.
overfilled or compacted or concentrated
From this reading The sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians.
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading _Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window.
goods carried by a large vehicle
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Yet the traffic in the streets was unchecked.
filled with a great quantity
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading _Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window.
without a sound
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading _Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor.
plural of “pedestrian” — a person who travels by foot
From this reading The sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians.
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
From this reading _Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window.
uttered with a trill
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
a loud low dull continuous noise
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
the month following August and preceding October
From this reading _Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window.
plural of “sidewalk” — walk consisting of a paved area for pedestrians; usually beside a street or roadway
From this reading The sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians.
plural of “street” — a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Yet the traffic in the streets was unchecked.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window.
the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time
From this reading Yet the traffic in the streets was unchecked.
not restrained or controlled
From this reading Yet the traffic in the streets was unchecked.
plural of “van” — any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians.
plural of “wheel” — a simple machine consisting of a circular frame with spokes (or a solid disc) that can rotate on a shaft or axle (as in vehicles or other machines)
From this reading Great rumbling vans laden with freight alternated with carriages rolling noiselessly on rubber-tired wheels.
inflected form of “whiz” — make a soft swishing sound
From this reading The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading _Published September, 1902._ The devil was looking out of the window.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The cable-cars whizzed past with a clanging clamor.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet the traffic in the streets was unchecked.
Chapter 1 of The champion by Charles Egbert Craddock holds 204 sentences, grouped into 41 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 204 sentences of The champion, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The champion by Charles Egbert Craddock exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 204 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 champion by Charles Egbert Craddock on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The champion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The champion 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 champion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
