Chapter 1 of The Compleat Angler is here in full — 285 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Compleat Angler is here in full — 285 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Piscator. You are well overtaken, Gentlemen! A good morning to you both! I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning. Venator.
Chapter 1 of The Compleat Angler is here in full — 285 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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.
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 A good morning to you both!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You are well overtaken, Gentlemen!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A good morning to you both!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You are well overtaken, Gentlemen!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A good morning to you both!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A good morning to you both!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You are well overtaken, Gentlemen!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Piscator.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A good morning to you both!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Venator.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You are well overtaken, Gentlemen!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You are well overtaken, Gentlemen!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have stretched my legs up Tottenham Hill to overtake you, hoping your business may occasion you towards Ware, whither I am going this fine fresh May morning.
Chapter 1 of The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton holds 285 sentences, grouped into 57 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 285 sentences of The Compleat Angler, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 285 sentences, grouped into 57 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 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 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 Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1731 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #683 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #683, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 144 minutes of reading across 347 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Compleat Angler section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Compleat Angler 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 Compleat Angler, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
