Chapter 1 of The Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts 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 Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CURTAIN. ACT III. _Scene: The attic, the following evening. The Play-play shows a tenement room. Entrance to hall Left; also a small stove.
Chapter 1 of The Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading “ACT III.”
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading “_Scene: The attic, the following evening.”
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “CURTAIN.”
something that provides access (to get in or get out)
From this reading “Entrance to hall Left; also a small stove.”
the place where some action occurs
plural of “show” — the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining
From this reading “The Play-play shows a tenement room.”
a kitchen appliance used for cooking food
From this reading “Entrance to hall Left; also a small stove.”
a run-down apartment house barely meeting minimal standards
From this reading “The Play-play shows a tenement room.”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The Play-play shows a tenement room.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading ACT III.
in addition
From this reading Entrance to hall Left; also a small stove.
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading _Scene: The attic, the following evening.
hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading CURTAIN.
something that provides access (to get in or get out)
From this reading Entrance to hall Left; also a small stove.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading _Scene: The attic, the following evening.
about to be mentioned or specified
From this reading _Scene: The attic, the following evening.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Entrance to hall Left; also a small stove.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading ACT III.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Entrance to hall Left; also a small stove.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Play-play shows a tenement room.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The Play-play shows a tenement room.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading _Scene: The attic, the following evening.
plural of “show” — the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining
From this reading The Play-play shows a tenement room.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Entrance to hall Left; also a small stove.
a kitchen appliance used for cooking food
From this reading Entrance to hall Left; also a small stove.
a run-down apartment house barely meeting minimal standards
From this reading The Play-play shows a tenement room.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Scene: The attic, the following evening.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Entrance to hall Left; also a small stove.
Chapter 1 of The Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts by Upton Sinclair 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 Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts by Upton Sinclair 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 Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts by Upton Sinclair on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1266 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5806 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5806, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 105 minutes of reading across 254 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts 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 Pot Boiler: A Comedy in Four Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
