Chapter 1 of The Old House: A Novel is here in full — 465 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Old House: A Novel is here in full — 465 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening. Winter hung white over the earth. Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach. They moved ghostlike over the silent, treeless plain. Mountains rose behind them in the snow.
Chapter 1 of The Old House: A Novel is here in full — 465 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/93 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports
From this reading “Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach.”
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach.”
resembling or characteristic of a phantom
From this reading “They moved ghostlike over the silent, treeless plain.”
past form of “print” — put into print
plural of “snowflake” — a crystal of snow
From this reading “Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach.”
plural of “state” — the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading “_Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.”
not wooded
From this reading “They moved ghostlike over the silent, treeless plain.”
characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity
From this reading “_Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach.”
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.
North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
From this reading _Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Mountains rose behind them in the snow.
teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports
From this reading Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading Winter hung white over the earth.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading _Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.
resembling or characteristic of a phantom
From this reading They moved ghostlike over the silent, treeless plain.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Winter hung white over the earth.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.
plural of “mountain” — a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill
From this reading Mountains rose behind them in the snow.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading They moved ghostlike over the silent, treeless plain.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.
above and across; more than
From this reading Winter hung white over the earth.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading They moved ghostlike over the silent, treeless plain.
past form of “print” — put into print
From this reading _Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading Mountains rose behind them in the snow.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading They moved ghostlike over the silent, treeless plain.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach.
plural of “snowflake” — a crystal of snow
From this reading Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach.
plural of “state” — the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading _Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Mountains rose behind them in the snow.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They moved ghostlike over the silent, treeless plain.
in the direction of
From this reading Great snowflakes crept over the snow towards the coach.
not wooded
From this reading They moved ghostlike over the silent, treeless plain.
characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity
From this reading _Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _Printed in the United States of America_ It was evening.
a Caucasian
From this reading Winter hung white over the earth.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading Winter hung white over the earth.
Chapter 1 of The Old House: A Novel by Cécile Tormay holds 465 sentences, grouped into 93 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 465 sentences of The Old House: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 93 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Old House: A Novel by Cécile Tormay exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 465 sentences, grouped into 93 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 93 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 93 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 Old House: A Novel by Cécile Tormay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5724 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66344 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66344, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 477 minutes of reading across 1145 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old House: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Old House: A Novel 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 Old House: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
