Chapter 1 of The Claw is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Claw is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Claw, by Sylvia Stockley. ________________________________________________________________________ THE CLAW, BY SYLVIA STOCKLEY. CHAPTER ONE. PART ONE--THE SKIES CALL. "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
Chapter 1 of The Claw is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
propose a payment
From this reading “"It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER ONE.”
sharp curved horny process on the toe of a bird or some mammals or reptiles
From this reading “The Claw, by Sylvia Stockley.”
a farewell remark
From this reading “"It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."”
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading “"It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."”
plural of “sea” — a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading “"It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."”
plural of “sky” — the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading “PART ONE--THE SKIES CALL.”
buildings for carrying on industrial labor
From this reading “"It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."”
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 “"It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
propose a payment
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The Claw, by Sylvia Stockley.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading PART ONE--THE SKIES CALL.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
sharp curved horny process on the toe of a bird or some mammals or reptiles
From this reading The Claw, by Sylvia Stockley.
dearly loved
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
a farewell remark
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading PART ONE--THE SKIES CALL.
express in words
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
plural of “sea” — a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
plural of “sky” — the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading PART ONE--THE SKIES CALL.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Claw, by Sylvia Stockley.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Claw, by Sylvia Stockley.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Claw, by Sylvia Stockley.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
buildings for carrying on industrial labor
From this reading "It works in me like madness, dear, To bid me say good-bye, For the seas call and the stars call, And oh! the call of the sky."
Chapter 1 of The Claw by Cynthia Stockley holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 421 sentences of The Claw, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Claw by Cynthia Stockley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Claw by Cynthia Stockley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5799 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37257 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37257, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 483 minutes of reading across 1160 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Claw section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Claw 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 Claw, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
