Chapter 1 of The Courage of the Commonplace is here in full — 569 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Courage of the Commonplace is here in full — 569 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town! A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother. Diplomacy was not for Johnny McLean--he was much too anxious. "Brant, look here," and he drew him into a comparative corner. "Where is she?"
Chapter 1 of The Courage of the Commonplace is here in full — 569 sentences across 114 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 105/113 · 5 reading units · Lines 521–525
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.
at or in the front
From this reading “A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.”
small dark geese that breed in the north and migrate southward
From this reading “A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.”
relating to or based on or involving comparison
From this reading “"Brant, look here," and he drew him into a comparative corner.”
negotiation between nations
From this reading “Diplomacy was not for Johnny McLean--he was much too anxious.”
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading “Diplomacy was not for Johnny McLean--he was much too anxious.”
Eurasian herb having small yellow flowers and red roots formerly an important source of the dye alizarin
From this reading “All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!”
a small part or portion that remains after the main part no longer exists
From this reading “A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.”
the quality of being ceaselessly moving or active
From this reading “All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!”
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 A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
at or in the front
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
eagerly desirous
From this reading Diplomacy was not for Johnny McLean--he was much too anxious.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
small dark geese that breed in the north and migrate southward
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
a collection of things sharing a common attribute
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
relating to or based on or involving comparison
From this reading "Brant, look here," and he drew him into a comparative corner.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading "Brant, look here," and he drew him into a comparative corner.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
placed crosswise
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
negotiation between nations
From this reading Diplomacy was not for Johnny McLean--he was much too anxious.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading "Brant, look here," and he drew him into a comparative corner.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Diplomacy was not for Johnny McLean--he was much too anxious.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Brant, look here," and he drew him into a comparative corner.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Brant, look here," and he drew him into a comparative corner.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "Brant, look here," and he drew him into a comparative corner.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Where is she?"
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading Diplomacy was not for Johnny McLean--he was much too anxious.
the act of departing
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Brant, look here," and he drew him into a comparative corner.
Eurasian herb having small yellow flowers and red roots formerly an important source of the dye alizarin
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Diplomacy was not for Johnny McLean--he was much too anxious.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Diplomacy was not for Johnny McLean--he was much too anxious.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
a small part or portion that remains after the main part no longer exists
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
the quality of being ceaselessly moving or active
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
express in words
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
in or at that place or location
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Diplomacy was not for Johnny McLean--he was much too anxious.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A remnant of the class ahead crossed them--and there was Brant, her brother.
in or at the place that
From this reading "Where is she?"
which person or people
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
in the company of; together with
From this reading All the time growing madder with restlessness, for who could tell if she might not be leaving town!
Chapter 1 of The Courage of the Commonplace by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews holds 569 sentences, grouped into 114 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 569 sentences of The Courage of the Commonplace, unabridged, divided into 114 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Courage of the Commonplace by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 569 sentences, grouped into 114 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 114 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 114 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 Courage of the Commonplace by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 569 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5825 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5825, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 47 minutes of reading across 114 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Courage of the Commonplace section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Courage of the Commonplace 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 Courage of the Commonplace, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
