Chapter 1 of The Land of the Changing Sun is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Land of the Changing Sun is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I'll count three, and three is the signal. Now ready. One, two, three!” Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side. The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
Chapter 1 of The Land of the Changing Sun is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 17/30 · 5 reading units · Lines 81–85
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.
plural of “balloonist” — someone who flies a balloon
From this reading “Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.”
having the limits or boundaries established
From this reading “Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.”
the act of suspending something (hanging it from above so it moves freely)
From this reading “Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.”
ranking above all others
From this reading “The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.”
the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading “Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.”
(of a gas e.g.) released from chemical combination
From this reading “Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.”
plural of “rope” — a strong line
From this reading “Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.”
to an extreme or greatly exaggerated degree
From this reading “Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.”
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 aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I'll count three, and three is the signal.
separated or at a distance in place or position or time
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
a flexible container with a single opening
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
plural of “balloonist” — someone who flies a balloon
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
a container that is usually woven and has handles
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
having the limits or boundaries established
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
determine the number or amount of
From this reading I'll count three, and three is the signal.
the act of suspending something (hanging it from above so it moves freely)
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
ranking above all others
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll count three, and three is the signal.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I'll count three, and three is the signal.
(of a gas e.g.) released from chemical combination
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now ready.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One, two, three!”
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading Now ready.
plural of “rope” — a strong line
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
Identical; not different.
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading I'll count three, and three is the signal.
inflected form of “swing” — move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I'll count three, and three is the signal.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading I'll count three, and three is the signal.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
having come into contact
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading One, two, three!”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading The aeronauts touched the water feet foremost at the same instant, and in half a minute they rose, not ten feet apart.
to an extreme or greatly exaggerated degree
From this reading Down shot the balloonists and up bounded the great liberated bag of gas; the basket and dangling ropes swung wildly from side to side.
Chapter 1 of The Land of the Changing Sun by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben holds 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 150 sentences of The Land of the Changing Sun, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Land of the Changing Sun by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Land of the Changing Sun by Will N. (Will Nathaniel) Harben on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2824 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3046 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3046, 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 Land of the Changing Sun section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Land of the Changing Sun 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 Land of the Changing Sun, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
