Chapter 1 of The Life and Most Surprising Adventures is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Life and Most Surprising Adventures is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The skins of those I killed, I preserved. In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea. _Nov._ 6. Completed my table. _Nov._ 7.
Chapter 1 of The Life and Most Surprising Adventures is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 75/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 371–375
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 “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.”
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading “Completed my table.”
the month following October and preceding December
detected by instinct or inference rather than by recognized perceptual cues
From this reading “In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.”
prevented from decaying or spoiling and prepared for future use
From this reading “The skins of those I killed, I preserved.”
plural of “seal” — fastener consisting of a resinous composition that is plastic when warm; used for sealing documents and parcels and letters
From this reading “In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.”
plural of “skin” — a natural protective body covering and site of the sense of touch
From this reading “The skins of those I killed, I preserved.”
thrown into a state of intense fear or desperation
From this reading “In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Nov._ 6.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Nov._ 7.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading Completed my table.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The skins of those I killed, I preserved.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading The skins of those I killed, I preserved.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading _Nov._ 6.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The skins of those I killed, I preserved.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
detected by instinct or inference rather than by recognized perceptual cues
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
prevented from decaying or spoiling and prepared for future use
From this reading The skins of those I killed, I preserved.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
plural of “seal” — fastener consisting of a resinous composition that is plastic when warm; used for sealing documents and parcels and letters
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
plural of “skin” — a natural protective body covering and site of the sense of touch
From this reading The skins of those I killed, I preserved.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Completed my table.
thrown into a state of intense fear or desperation
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The skins of those I killed, I preserved.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading The skins of those I killed, I preserved.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading In my return, I perceived many wild birds, and was terrified by some seals which made off to sea.
Chapter 1 of The Life and Most Surprising Adventures by Daniel Defoe holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 411 sentences of The Life and Most Surprising Adventures, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Life and Most Surprising Adventures by Daniel Defoe exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Life and Most Surprising Adventures by Daniel Defoe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2877 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11866 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11866, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 239 minutes of reading across 576 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Life and Most Surprising Adventures section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Life and Most Surprising Adventures 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 Life and Most Surprising Adventures, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
