Chapter 1 of The Prairie-Bird is here in full — 80 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Prairie-Bird is here in full — 80 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected. —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber. PRAIRIE–BIRD. HON. CHARLES AUGUSTUS MURRAY.
Chapter 1 of The Prairie-Bird is here in full — 80 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
Roman statesman who established the Roman Empire and became emperor in 27 BC; defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC at Actium (63 BC - AD 14)
From this reading “CHARLES AUGUSTUS MURRAY.”
having something undesirable neutralized
From this reading “—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.”
plural of “error” — a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.”
artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading “—Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.”
British classical scholar (born in Australia) who advocated the League of Nations and the United Nations (1866-1957)
From this reading “CHARLES AUGUSTUS MURRAY.”
a treeless grassy plain
From this reading “PRAIRIE–BIRD.”
something that makes repeated and regular interruptions or divisions
From this reading “—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.”
a person who translates written messages from one language to another
From this reading “—Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.”
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 “—Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.”
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.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading —Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
Roman statesman who established the Roman Empire and became emperor in 27 BC; defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC at Actium (63 BC - AD 14)
From this reading CHARLES AUGUSTUS MURRAY.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading PRAIRIE–BIRD.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading CHARLES AUGUSTUS MURRAY.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
having something undesirable neutralized
From this reading —Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
plural of “error” — a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading —Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HON.
artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
give or make a list of; name individually; give the names of
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
British classical scholar (born in Australia) who advocated the League of Nations and the United Nations (1866-1957)
From this reading CHARLES AUGUSTUS MURRAY.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
easily perceived by the senses or grasped by the mind
From this reading —Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
a treeless grassy plain
From this reading PRAIRIE–BIRD.
the text appearing in a book, newspaper, or other printed publication
From this reading —Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
past form of “produce” — bring forth or yield
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
something that makes repeated and regular interruptions or divisions
From this reading —Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
a person who translates written messages from one language to another
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading —Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading —Table of Contents and List of Illustration were not in the original work; they have been produced and added by Transcriber.
Chapter 1 of The Prairie-Bird by Charles Augustus, Sir Murray holds 80 sentences, grouped into 16 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 80 sentences of The Prairie-Bird, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Prairie-Bird by Charles Augustus, Sir Murray exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 80 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 Prairie-Bird by Charles Augustus, Sir Murray on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5957 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47357 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47357, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 496 minutes of reading across 1192 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Prairie-Bird section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Prairie-Bird 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 Prairie-Bird, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
