Chapter 1 of The Enormous Word is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Enormous Word is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect. Now here he was, complaining of indigestion! Hurry! Hurry! Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!
Chapter 1 of The Enormous Word is here in full — 254 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
expressing pain or dissatisfaction of resentment
From this reading “Now here he was, complaining of indigestion!”
deserving of contempt or scorn
From this reading “The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.”
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading “Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!”
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading “Hurry!”
a disorder of digestive function characterized by discomfort or heartburn or nausea
From this reading “Now here he was, complaining of indigestion!”
small air-breathing arthropod
From this reading “The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.”
having been robbed and destroyed by force and violence
From this reading “The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.”
made less in size or amount or degree
From this reading “The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
extremely lofty evergreen of southern end of western foothills of Sierra Nevada in California; largest living organism
In this reading “Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!”
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 The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!
expressing pain or dissatisfaction of resentment
From this reading Now here he was, complaining of indigestion!
deserving of contempt or scorn
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Now here he was, complaining of indigestion!
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Now here he was, complaining of indigestion!
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading Hurry!
a disorder of digestive function characterized by discomfort or heartburn or nausea
From this reading Now here he was, complaining of indigestion!
small air-breathing arthropod
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
the force of workers available
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now here he was, complaining of indigestion!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Now here he was, complaining of indigestion!
having been robbed and destroyed by force and violence
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
made less in size or amount or degree
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Now here he was, complaining of indigestion!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The blue men had ravaged Terra and reduced Winston Eberly to a contemptible insect.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Run as fast as you can go to the big tree!
Chapter 1 of The Enormous Word by William Oberfield holds 254 sentences, grouped into 51 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 254 sentences of The Enormous Word, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Enormous Word by William Oberfield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 254 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 Enormous Word by William Oberfield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 254 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64747 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64747, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 21 minutes of reading across 51 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Enormous Word section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Enormous Word 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 Enormous Word, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
