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.
"I suppose on the whole it's a good institution. And it's wonderful what wisdom the boys show. Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly. So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished." "But so many times they don't," the girl followed her words.
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 11/113 · 5 reading units · Lines 51–55
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.
in an amazing manner; to everyone's surprise
From this reading “Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.”
(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation
From this reading “So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."”
cause to move by striking
From this reading “So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."”
an organization founded and united for a specific purpose
From this reading “"I suppose on the whole it's a good institution.”
plural of “mistake” — a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.”
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."”
select carefully from a group
From this reading “Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.”
accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment
From this reading “And it's wonderful what wisdom the boys show.”
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 "I suppose on the whole it's a good institution.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And it's wonderful what wisdom the boys show.
in an amazing manner; to everyone's surprise
From this reading Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading And it's wonderful what wisdom the boys show.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
(used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation
From this reading So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But so many times they don't," the girl followed her words.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading "But so many times they don't," the girl followed her words.
a young female
From this reading "But so many times they don't," the girl followed her words.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "I suppose on the whole it's a good institution.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "But so many times they don't," the girl followed her words.
cause to move by striking
From this reading So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I suppose on the whole it's a good institution.
an organization founded and united for a specific purpose
From this reading "I suppose on the whole it's a good institution.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I suppose on the whole it's a good institution.
engage in
From this reading Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."
the force of workers available
From this reading Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
plural of “mistake” — a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "I suppose on the whole it's a good institution.
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."
select carefully from a group
From this reading Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading And it's wonderful what wisdom the boys show.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."
express a supposition
From this reading "I suppose on the whole it's a good institution.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I suppose on the whole it's a good institution.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Of course, they make mistakes, but on the whole they pick the best men astonishingly.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading And it's wonderful what wisdom the boys show.
which person or people
From this reading So many times they hit the ones who come to be distinguished."
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading "I suppose on the whole it's a good institution.
accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment
From this reading And it's wonderful what wisdom the boys show.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading And it's wonderful what wisdom the boys show.
the words that are spoken
From this reading "But so many times they don't," the girl followed her words.
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.
