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.
He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him. With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him. He could not believe it--that girl--the girl. But she was gone; she had not looked at him. Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.
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 24/113 · 5 reading units · Lines 116–120
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.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading “With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.”
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.”
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading “With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.”
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading “With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.”
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading “With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.”
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading “Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.”
happening unexpectedly
From this reading “Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.”
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 Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading He could not believe it--that girl--the girl.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But she was gone; she had not looked at him.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could not believe it--that girl--the girl.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him.
opinion or judgment
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
a young female
From this reading He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him.
destroyed or killed
From this reading But she was gone; she had not looked at him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But she was gone; she had not looked at him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He could not believe it--that girl--the girl.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading But she was gone; she had not looked at him.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.
cut with a saw
From this reading He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He could not believe it--that girl--the girl.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He saw the girl, and the girl did not look at him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Like a shot animal he suddenly began to run.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But she was gone; she had not looked at him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With her head up and her brown eyes fixed on Phelps gate-way she hurried along--and did not look at him.
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.
