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.
But the men did not know it. He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them. He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught. Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd. With that a woman's voice lifted.
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 71/113 · 5 reading units · Lines 351–355
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.
cheerfulness that bubbles to the surface
From this reading “Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.”
the act of making up your mind about something
From this reading “Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.”
armor plate that protects the head
From this reading “He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.”
a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
From this reading “He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.”
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading “He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.”
for a short time
From this reading “He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.”
grievously affected especially by disease
From this reading “Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.”
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading “With that a woman's voice lifted.”
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 With that a woman's voice lifted.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
cheerfulness that bubbles to the surface
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the men did not know it.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
the act of making up your mind about something
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But the men did not know it.
past form of “explain” — make plain and comprehensible
From this reading He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.
armor plate that protects the head
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But the men did not know it.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading But the men did not know it.
a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
held up in the air
From this reading With that a woman's voice lifted.
the force of workers available
From this reading But the men did not know it.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But the men did not know it.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
capable of happening or existing
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
with speed
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
for a short time
From this reading He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.
grievously affected especially by disease
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
express in words
From this reading He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But the men did not know it.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He explained shortly that he must get to them and tell them.
characterized by quickness and firmness
From this reading Quickly, with an unhesitating decision, he talked, and his buoyancy put courage in to the stricken crowd.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading With that a woman's voice lifted.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading With that a woman's voice lifted.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading He would go to the second level and with an oxygen helmet would reach possible air before he was caught.
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.
