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.
_Nov._ 14--16. I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places. I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat. _Nov._ 17. I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
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 77/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 381–385
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 “box” — a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading “I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.”
choose not to consume
From this reading “I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.”
turn up, loosen, or remove earth
From this reading “I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.”
a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl
From this reading “I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat.”
structures collectively in which people are housed
From this reading “I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.”
the month following October and preceding December
a solid substance in the form of tiny loose particles; a solid that has been pulverized
From this reading “I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.”
a hand tool for lifting loose material; consists of a curved container or scoop and a handle
From this reading “I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.”
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._ 14--16.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Nov._ 14--16.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Nov._ 17.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat.
in addition
From this reading I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
plural of “box” — a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
choose not to consume
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
turn up, loosen, or remove earth
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
very good; of the highest quality
From this reading I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl
From this reading I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
structures collectively in which people are housed
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food
From this reading I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading _Nov._ 14--16.
under a moral obligation to do something
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
a heavy iron tool with a wooden handle and a curved head that is pointed on both ends
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
a solid substance in the form of tiny loose particles; a solid that has been pulverized
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
established beyond doubt
From this reading I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat.
a hand tool for lifting loose material; consists of a curved container or scoop and a handle
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading I made little boxes for my powder, lodging them in several places.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading I also shot a large fowl, which proved excellent meat.
but in spite of that
From this reading I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
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.
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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.
