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.
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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.
Fair weather. I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday. _Nov._ 13. Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise. The weather clearing, I secured my powder in separate parcels.
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 76/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 376–380
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.
the property of a more than adequate quantity or supply
From this reading “Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.”
the procedure of calculating; determining something by mathematical or logical methods
From this reading “I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.”
a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area
From this reading “The weather clearing, I secured my powder in separate parcels.”
past form of “cool” — make cool or cooler
From this reading “Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.”
descent of the uterus into the pelvic cavity that occurs late in pregnancy; the fetus is said to have dropped
From this reading “Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.”
the month following October and preceding December
inflected form of “omit” — prevent from being included or considered or accepted
From this reading “I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.”
plural of “parcel” — a wrapped container
From this reading “The weather clearing, I secured my powder in separate parcels.”
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 I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Nov._ 13.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
the property of a more than adequate quantity or supply
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
(followed by “to”) in agreement with or accordant with
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
the procedure of calculating; determining something by mathematical or logical methods
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
past form of “cause” — give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area
From this reading The weather clearing, I secured my powder in separate parcels.
past form of “cool” — make cool or cooler
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Fair weather.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
descent of the uterus into the pelvic cavity that occurs late in pregnancy; the fetus is said to have dropped
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading _Nov._ 13.
inflected form of “omit” — prevent from being included or considered or accepted
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
plural of “parcel” — a wrapped container
From this reading The weather clearing, I secured my powder in separate parcels.
a solid substance in the form of tiny loose particles; a solid that has been pulverized
From this reading The weather clearing, I secured my powder in separate parcels.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
past form of “secure” — get by special effort
From this reading The weather clearing, I secured my powder in separate parcels.
act as a barrier between; stand between
From this reading The weather clearing, I secured my powder in separate parcels.
first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
required or under orders
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
move fast, noisily, and heavily
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
up to a particular time
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading Fair weather.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Rain in abundance, which, however, much cooled the air; with thunder and lightening, caused in me a terrible surprise.
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading I worked till the 12th, but omitted the 11th, which, according to my calculation, I supposed to be Sunday.
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.
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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.
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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.
