Chapter 1 of The Heart of the Hills is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Heart of the Hills is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
You go on home." The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him. He turned when he heard the patter of her feet. "Huh!" he grunted contemptuously, and kept on. At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
Chapter 1 of The Heart of the Hills is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 26/85 · 5 reading units · Lines 126–130
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.
form a curve
From this reading “At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.”
plural of “bush” — a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading “At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.”
without respect; in a disdainful manner
From this reading “"Huh!" he grunted contemptuously, and kept on.”
past form of “grunt” — issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise
From this reading “"Huh!" he grunted contemptuously, and kept on.”
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading “The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.”
the back of a horse
From this reading “At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.”
plausible glib talk (especially useful to a salesperson)
From this reading “He turned when he heard the patter of her feet.”
inflected form of “trot” — run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading “The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.”
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 boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
later than; following
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
form a curve
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
a youthful male person
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
plural of “bush” — a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
without respect; in a disdainful manner
From this reading "Huh!" he grunted contemptuously, and kept on.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading He turned when he heard the patter of her feet.
a young female
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading You go on home."
past form of “grunt” — issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise
From this reading "Huh!" he grunted contemptuously, and kept on.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He turned when he heard the patter of her feet.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He turned when he heard the patter of her feet.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He turned when he heard the patter of her feet.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading You go on home."
the back of a horse
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Huh!" he grunted contemptuously, and kept on.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading "Huh!" he grunted contemptuously, and kept on.
the force of workers available
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
a particular point in time
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He turned when he heard the patter of her feet.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading You go on home."
plausible glib talk (especially useful to a salesperson)
From this reading He turned when he heard the patter of her feet.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
cut with a saw
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
the upper part of anything
From this reading At the top of the hill he saw several men on horseback in the bend of the road below, and he turned into the bushes.
inflected form of “trot” — run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned when he heard the patter of her feet.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The boy started up the hill, and in a moment the girl was trotting after him.
at the time that
From this reading He turned when he heard the patter of her feet.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You go on home."
Chapter 1 of The Heart of the Hills by John, Jr. Fox holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 429 sentences of The Heart of the Hills, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Heart of the Hills by John, Jr. Fox exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Heart of the Hills by John, Jr. Fox on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3941 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5145 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5145, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 328 minutes of reading across 789 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Heart of the Hills section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Heart of the Hills 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 Heart of the Hills, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
