Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water. Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks. Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it. She did not like it. Neither did the worm!
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 21/102 · 5 reading units · Lines 101–105
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.
harass with persistent criticism or carping
From this reading “Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks.”
past form of “bait” — harass with persistent criticism or carping
From this reading “Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.”
(slang) offensive term for a lesbian who is noticeably masculine
From this reading “So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.”
large strong hand (as of a fighter)
From this reading “Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks.”
the leaves of the shrub Catha edulis which are chewed like tobacco or used to make tea; has the effect of a euphoric stimulant
From this reading “Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.”
moving to a position on a surface
From this reading “So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.”
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading “So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.”
any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae
From this reading “Neither did the worm!”
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 So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
(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 Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
harass with persistent criticism or carping
From this reading Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks.
past form of “bait” — harass with persistent criticism or carping
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
for the reason that
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did not like it.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
(slang) offensive term for a lesbian who is noticeably masculine
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
the father of your father or mother
From this reading Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
large strong hand (as of a fighter)
From this reading Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
the leaves of the shrub Catha edulis which are chewed like tobacco or used to make tea; has the effect of a euphoric stimulant
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
a case for containing a set of articles
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading She did not like it.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
not one and not the other of two
From this reading Neither did the worm!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She did not like it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
moving to a position on a surface
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She did not like it.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Grandfather showed them how to bait their hooks.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading So they went down the other side of the dyke and cut onto a little pier that ran from the sandy beach into the water.
any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae
From this reading Neither did the worm!
moving in a twisting or snake-like or wormlike fashion
From this reading Kit baited Kat's for her, because Kat said it made her all wriggly inside to do it.
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins holds 511 sentences, grouped into 103 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 511 sentences of The Dutch Twins, unabridged, divided into 103 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 511 sentences, grouped into 103 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 103 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 103 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 Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1516 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4012 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4012, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 126 minutes of reading across 304 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dutch Twins section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Dutch Twins 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 Dutch Twins, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
