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.
They ran to the end of the pier and looked. There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat! Kit's were still bobbing about in the water near the pier. "Oh! Oh!
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 29/102 · 5 reading units · Lines 141–145
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.
North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
From this reading “There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!”
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading “There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!”
inflected form of “bob” — move up and down repeatedly
From this reading “Kit's were still bobbing about in the water near the pier.”
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading “They ran to the end of the pier and looked.”
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading “They ran to the end of the pier and looked.”
the work of a sailor
From this reading “There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!”
footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material
From this reading “There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!”
in the direction of
From this reading “There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!”
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 There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Kit's were still bobbing about in the water near the pier.
North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They ran to the end of the pier and looked.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
inflected form of “bob” — move up and down repeatedly
From this reading Kit's were still bobbing about in the water near the pier.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading They ran to the end of the pier and looked.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Kit's were still bobbing about in the water near the pier.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kit's were still bobbing about in the water near the pier.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading They ran to the end of the pier and looked.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading Kit's were still bobbing about in the water near the pier.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They ran to the end of the pier and looked.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh!
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading They ran to the end of the pier and looked.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading They ran to the end of the pier and looked.
the work of a sailor
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
not in physical motion
From this reading Kit's were still bobbing about in the water near the pier.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They ran to the end of the pier and looked.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They ran to the end of the pier and looked.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They ran to the end of the pier and looked.
in the direction of
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was Kat's shoe sailing away toward America like a little boat!
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 Kit's were still bobbing about in the water near the pier.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Kit's were still bobbing about in the water near the pier.
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.
