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.
The boy shook his head. "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again. Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting. "I better be gittin' back too," she said shyly, and off she ran. Old Jason laughed again.
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 44/85 · 5 reading units · Lines 216–220
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 youthful male person
From this reading “The boy shook his head.”
(Greek mythology) the husband of Medea and leader of the Argonauts who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece
From this reading “Old Jason laughed again.”
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading “Old Jason laughed again.”
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading “"I better be gittin' back too," she said shyly, and off she ran.”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “The boy shook his head.”
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading “"I better be gittin' back too," she said shyly, and off she ran.”
(especially of eyes) bulging or protruding as with fear
From this reading “Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.”
in the direction of
From this reading “Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.”
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 "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
anew
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading "I better be gittin' back too," she said shyly, and off she ran.
a youthful male person
From this reading The boy shook his head.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.
a young female
From this reading Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading The boy shook his head.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The boy shook his head.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
(Greek mythology) the husband of Medea and leader of the Argonauts who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece
From this reading Old Jason laughed again.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading Old Jason laughed again.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "I better be gittin' back too," she said shyly, and off she ran.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Old Jason laughed again.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading "I better be gittin' back too," she said shyly, and off she ran.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading The boy shook his head.
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading "I better be gittin' back too," she said shyly, and off she ran.
(especially of eyes) bulging or protruding as with fear
From this reading Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The boy shook his head.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.
in the direction of
From this reading Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Marjorie looked toward the little girl, but she, too, was starting.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading "I got to be gittin' back home," he said, and without a word more he turned again.
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.
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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.
