Chapter 1 of The Explorer is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Explorer is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC. The sea was very calm. There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness. The sky was dark with lowering clouds, but there was no wind. The line of the horizon was clear and delicate.
Chapter 1 of The Explorer is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.”
the state of being under the control of a force or influence or abstract power
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.”
make calm or still
From this reading “The sea was very calm.”
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading “The sky was dark with lowering clouds, but there was no wind.”
exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury
From this reading “The line of the horizon was clear and delicate.”
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading “The line of the horizon was clear and delicate.”
darkened by clouds
From this reading “The sky was dark with lowering clouds, but there was no wind.”
not in physical motion
From this reading “There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.
the state of being under the control of a force or influence or abstract power
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The sky was dark with lowering clouds, but there was no wind.
make calm or still
From this reading The sea was very calm.
rid of obstructions
From this reading The line of the horizon was clear and delicate.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading The sky was dark with lowering clouds, but there was no wind.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading The sky was dark with lowering clouds, but there was no wind.
exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury
From this reading The line of the horizon was clear and delicate.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.
divisible by two
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading The line of the horizon was clear and delicate.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading The line of the horizon was clear and delicate.
darkened by clouds
From this reading The sky was dark with lowering clouds, but there was no wind.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.
not in physical motion
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading The sea was very calm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
transport commercially
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
a small coin of the United Kingdom worth six pennies; not minted since 1970
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The sky was dark with lowering clouds, but there was no wind.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE MOON AND SIXPENCE," "OF HUMAN BONDAGE," ETC., ETC.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
precisely as stated
From this reading The sea was very calm.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The sea was very calm.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There was no ship in sight, and the sea-gulls were motionless upon its even greyness.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading The sky was dark with lowering clouds, but there was no wind.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The sky was dark with lowering clouds, but there was no wind.
Chapter 1 of The Explorer by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 424 sentences of The Explorer, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Explorer by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Explorer by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5391 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27198 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27198, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 449 minutes of reading across 1079 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Explorer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Explorer 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 Explorer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
