Chapter 1 of The Plum Tree is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Plum Tree is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of The Cost, Golden Fleece, Etc. "We can hold out six months longer,--at least six months." My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years. I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday. We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
Chapter 1 of The Plum Tree is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “Author of The Cost, Golden Fleece, Etc.”
having or marked by confidence or assurance
From this reading “We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.”
the wool of a sheep or similar animal
From this reading “Author of The Cost, Golden Fleece, Etc.”
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.”
less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
From this reading “We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.”
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading “My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.”
being five more than twenty
From this reading “We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.”
in a vivid manner
From this reading “I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.”
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.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "We can hold out six months longer,--at least six months."
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of The Cost, Golden Fleece, Etc.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "We can hold out six months longer,--at least six months."
having or marked by confidence or assurance
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
From this reading Author of The Cost, Golden Fleece, Etc.
in an encouraging manner
From this reading My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of The Cost, Golden Fleece, Etc.
divisible by two
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
at any time
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
the wool of a sheep or similar animal
From this reading Author of The Cost, Golden Fleece, Etc.
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading Author of The Cost, Golden Fleece, Etc.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "We can hold out six months longer,--at least six months."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading "We can hold out six months longer,--at least six months."
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.
for more time
From this reading "We can hold out six months longer,--at least six months."
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading "We can hold out six months longer,--at least six months."
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of The Cost, Golden Fleece, Etc.
and nothing more
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "We can hold out six months longer,--at least six months."
less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading "We can hold out six months longer,--at least six months."
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Author of The Cost, Golden Fleece, Etc.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.
being five more than twenty
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
in a vivid manner
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading We were at our scant breakfast, I as blue as was ever even twenty-five, she brave and confident.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We can hold out six months longer,--at least six months."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
a late time of life
From this reading My mother's tone made the six months stretch encouragingly into six long years.
the day immediately before today
From this reading I see her now, vividly as if it were only yesterday.
Chapter 1 of The Plum Tree by David Graham Phillips holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 418 sentences of The Plum Tree, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Plum Tree by David Graham Phillips exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Plum Tree by David Graham Phillips on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4145 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20449 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20449, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 345 minutes of reading across 829 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Plum Tree section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Plum Tree 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 Plum Tree, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
