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.
This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable. _Dec_ 17. I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way. _Dec_ 20. Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
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 80/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 396–400
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 last (12th) month of the year
furniture with drawers for keeping clothes
From this reading “Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.”
existing for a long time
From this reading “This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.”
past form of “nail” — attach something somewhere by means of nails
From this reading “I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.”
past form of “occasion” — give occasion to
From this reading “This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.”
plural of “post” — the position where someone (as a guard or sentry) stands or is assigned to stand
From this reading “I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.”
Plural of shelf; the vast wooden or stone structures holding archives.
From this reading “I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.”
plural of “staple” — (usually in the plural) a necessary commodity for which demand is constant
From this reading “I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.”
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 _Dec_ 17.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Dec_ 20.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
the last (12th) month of the year
From this reading _Dec_ 17.
furniture with drawers for keeping clothes
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
existing for a long time
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
be suspended or hanging
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
engage in
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
past form of “nail” — attach something somewhere by means of nails
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
plural of “nail” — horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
past form of “occasion” — give occasion to
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
an effortful attempt to attain a goal
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
plural of “post” — the position where someone (as a guard or sentry) stands or is assigned to stand
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
Plural of shelf; the vast wooden or stone structures holding archives.
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
plural of “staple” — (usually in the plural) a necessary commodity for which demand is constant
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
a special situation
From this reading Every thing I got into its place, then made a sort of a dresser, and another table.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
a source of difficulty
From this reading This occasioned a great deal of pains and trouble to me, before I could make it firm and durable.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading I nailed up some shelves and drove nails and staples in the wall and posts to hang things out of the way.
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.
