Chapter 1 of The Girl Next Door is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Girl Next Door is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?" "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet? And I'm your _best_ friend!" "I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet. I wanted to _tell_ you; I didn't want to _write_ it."
Chapter 1 of The Girl Next Door is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading “"I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.”
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"”
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading “"That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?”
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading “MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"”
up to a particular time
From this reading “"I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.”
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “"I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.”
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading “I wanted to _tell_ you; I didn't want to _write_ it."”
produce a literary work
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.
In this reading “"That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?”
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 "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading And I'm your _best_ friend!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading "I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I wanted to _tell_ you; I didn't want to _write_ it."
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading And I'm your _best_ friend!"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I'm your _best_ friend!"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
express in words
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.
up to a particular time
From this reading "I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading "I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading I wanted to _tell_ you; I didn't want to _write_ it."
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading I wanted to _tell_ you; I didn't want to _write_ it."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I was waiting till you came to the city, Janet.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
produce a literary work
From this reading I wanted to _tell_ you; I didn't want to _write_ it."
but in spite of that
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading MARCIA'S SECRET "Marcia Brett, do you mean to tell me--" "Tell you--what?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That you've had a secret two whole months and never told me about it yet?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And I'm your _best_ friend!"
Chapter 1 of The Girl Next Door by Augusta Huiell Seaman holds 184 sentences, grouped into 37 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 184 sentences of The Girl Next Door, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Girl Next Door by Augusta Huiell Seaman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 184 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 Girl Next Door by Augusta Huiell Seaman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2824 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39896 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39896, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 235 minutes of reading across 565 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Girl Next Door section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Girl Next Door 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 Girl Next Door, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
