Chapter 27 of The Child's Book of Nature is here in full — 279 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of The Child's Book of Nature is here in full — 279 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AIR. [Sidenote: Air, a thing.] We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so. There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top. It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.
Chapter 27 of The Child's Book of Nature is here in full — 279 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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 mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading “AIR.”
make void or empty of contents
From this reading “We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.”
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading “It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.”
furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy
From this reading “We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.”
express in speech
From this reading “We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.”
the upper part of anything
From this reading “There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading [Sidenote: Air, a thing.]
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading AIR.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
the two together, not just one
From this reading It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top.
furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top.
not any; not one
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Sidenote: Air, a thing.]
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
express in speech
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top.
a special situation
From this reading [Sidenote: Air, a thing.]
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top.
the upper part of anything
From this reading There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top.
precisely as stated
From this reading There is one thing that it is full of up to its very top.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We speak of a room having no furniture in it as being empty; but this is not exactly so.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading It is a thing that you can not see; but it is as really a thing as the furniture that you can both see and feel.
Chapter 27 of The Child's Book of Nature by Worthington Hooker holds 279 sentences, grouped into 56 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 27 holds 279 sentences of The Child's Book of Nature, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of The Child's Book of Nature by Worthington Hooker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 279 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 27 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 Child's Book of Nature by Worthington Hooker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8841 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58421 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58421, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1769 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Child's Book of Nature section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of The Child's Book of Nature 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 Child's Book of Nature, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
