Chapter 1 of The Circus Boys on the Plains is here in full — 5 sentences across 1 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Circus Boys on the Plains is here in full — 5 sentences across 1 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us." Circus Boys meet a cold reception. Phil is made a "barn climber." Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck. "Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.
Chapter 1 of The Circus Boys on the Plains is here in full — 5 sentences across 1 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/1 · 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 vine or climbing plant that readily grows up a support or over other plants
From this reading “Phil is made a "barn climber."”
possessive form of “manager” — someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading “Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck.”
submerge in a liquid
From this reading “"Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.”
common smelt of Europe
From this reading “"Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."”
third-person singular of “threaten” — pose a threat to; present a danger to
From this reading “Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck.”
plural of “tie” — neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading “"Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.”
twist and press out of shape
From this reading “Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck.”
plural of “yell” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading “"Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.”
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 Circus Boys meet a cold reception.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading Phil is made a "barn climber."
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
a youthful male person
From this reading "Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Circus Boys meet a cold reception.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck.
a travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals
From this reading Circus Boys meet a cold reception.
a vine or climbing plant that readily grows up a support or over other plants
From this reading Phil is made a "barn climber."
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading Circus Boys meet a cold reception.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Phil is made a "barn climber."
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Phil is made a "barn climber."
possessive form of “manager” — someone who controls resources and expenditures
From this reading Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck.
come together
From this reading Circus Boys meet a cold reception.
the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Phil is made a "barn climber."
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading "Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.
line that is the commercial organization responsible for operating a system of transportation for trains that pull passengers or freight
From this reading "Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.
the manner in which something is greeted
From this reading Circus Boys meet a cold reception.
relieve from
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
submerge in a liquid
From this reading "Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.
common smelt of Europe
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
plaything consisting of a child's toy bear (usually plush and stuffed with soft materials)
From this reading Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck.
third-person singular of “threaten” — pose a threat to; present a danger to
From this reading Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck.
plural of “tie” — neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front
From this reading "Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Boss Sparling seems in an awful hurry to get rid of us."
twist and press out of shape
From this reading Teddy threatens to wring the car manager's neck.
plural of “yell” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading "Soak him, Phil!" yells the boy on the pile of railroad ties.
Chapter 1 of The Circus Boys on the Plains by Edgar B. P. Darlington holds 5 sentences, grouped into 1 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 5 sentences of The Circus Boys on the Plains, unabridged, divided into 1 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Circus Boys on the Plains by Edgar B. P. Darlington exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 5 sentences, grouped into 1 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 1 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 1 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 Circus Boys on the Plains by Edgar B. P. Darlington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4173 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2478 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2478, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 347 minutes of reading across 835 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Circus Boys on the Plains section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Circus Boys on the Plains 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 Circus Boys on the Plains, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
