The Rag and Bone Men

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of The Rag and Bone Men is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Algis Budrys • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Rag and Bone Men

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

Unfortunate castaway!

Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

The other one--Charpantier, he called himself--he and I were going back up the hill to the Foundation, carrying our bags, when I happened to remark I didn't think the Veld was sane anymore.

(I call myself Maurer.) Charpantier said nothing for a moment.

We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter I Reading 1/41

The Rag and Bone Men

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of The Rag and Bone Men is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/41 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

Unfortunate castaway!

/ənˈfɔːrtʃənət ˈkæstəweɪ/

Line 2

Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

Line 3

The other one--Charpantier, he called himself--he and I were going back up the hill to the Foundation, carrying our bags, when I happened to remark I didn't think the Veld was sane anymore.

Line 4

(I call myself Maurer.) Charpantier said nothing for a moment.

Line 5

We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

Learner Dictionary

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.

anymore adverb US /ˌeniˈmɔːr/

at the present or from now on; usually used with a negative

From this reading “The other one--Charpantier, he called himself--he and I were going back up the hill to the Foundation, carrying our bags, when I happened to remark I didn't think the Veld was sane anymore.”

castaway noun US /ˈkæstəweɪ/

a person who is rejected (from society or home)

From this reading “Unfortunate castaway!”

clipped adjective US /klɪpt/

cut or trimmed by clipping

From this reading “We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.”

gravel noun US /ˈɡrævəl/

rock fragments and pebbles

From this reading “We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.”

hedges noun US /ˈhedʒɪz/

plural of “hedge” — a fence formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes

From this reading “We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.”

humans noun US /ˈhjuːmənz/

all of the living human inhabitants of the earth

From this reading “Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!”

Marooned adjective US /mərˈuːnd/

cut off or left behind

From this reading “Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!”

sane adjective US /seɪn/

mentally healthy; free from mental disorder

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

gravel path noun + noun

In this reading “We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.”

for a moment preposition + article + noun counted as “for … moment”

temporarily

In this reading “(I call myself Maurer.) Charpantier said nothing for a moment.”

All words in this reading · 57

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading (I call myself Maurer.) Charpantier said nothing for a moment.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading The other one--Charpantier, he called himself--he and I were going back up the hill to the Foundation, carrying our bags, when I happened to remark I didn't think the Veld was sane anymore.

anymoreadverbUS /ˌeniˈmɔːr/

at the present or from now on; usually used with a negative

backadverbUS /bæk/

in or to or toward a former location

bagsnounUS /bæɡz/

plural of “bag” — a flexible container with a single opening

betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

callverbUS /kɔːl/

assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to

From this reading (I call myself Maurer.) Charpantier said nothing for a moment.

calledverbUS /kɔːld/

past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to

carryingverbUS /ˈkæriɪŋ/

-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body

castawaynounUS /ˈkæstəweɪ/

a person who is rejected (from society or home)

From this reading Unfortunate castaway!

Charpantier

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

clippedadjectiveUS /klɪpt/

cut or trimmed by clipping

From this reading We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

didn't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

faradverbUS /fɑːr/

to a considerable degree; very much

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading (I call myself Maurer.) Charpantier said nothing for a moment.

FoundationnounUS /faʊnˈdeɪʃən/

the basis on which something is grounded

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

goingnounUS /ˈɡoʊɪŋ/

the act of departing

gravelnounUS /ˈɡrævəl/

rock fragments and pebbles

From this reading We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

happenedverbUS /ˈhæpənd/

past form of “happen” — come to pass

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

hedgesnounUS /ˈhedʒɪz/

plural of “hedge” — a fence formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes

From this reading We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

hillnounUS /hɪl/

a local and well-defined elevation of the land

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

homenounUS /hoʊm/

where you live at a particular time

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

humansnounUS /ˈhjuːmənz/

all of the living human inhabitants of the earth

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

keptadjectiveUS /kept/

(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded

From this reading We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

lonelinessnounUS /ˈloʊnlinəs/

the state of being alone in solitary isolation

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

MaroonedadjectiveUS /mərˈuːnd/

cut off or left behind

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

Maurer

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading (I call myself Maurer.) Charpantier said nothing for a moment.

momentnounUS /ˈmoʊmənt/

a particular point in time

From this reading (I call myself Maurer.) Charpantier said nothing for a moment.

myselfpronounUS /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

From this reading (I call myself Maurer.) Charpantier said nothing for a moment.

nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

otheradjectiveUS /ˈʌðər/

not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

pathnounUS /pæθ/

a course of conduct

From this reading We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

remarknounUS /rɪˈmɑːrk/

a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading (I call myself Maurer.) Charpantier said nothing for a moment.

saneadjectiveUS /seɪn/

mentally healthy; free from mental disorder

shareverbUS /ʃer/

have in common

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

thinkverbUS /θɪŋk/

judge or regard; look upon; judge

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

UnfortunateadjectiveUS /ənˈfɔːrtʃənət/

not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune

From this reading Unfortunate castaway!

unimaginativelyadverb

in a matter-of-fact manner

From this reading We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

Veldnoun

elevated open grassland in southern Africa

walkingadjectiveUS /ˈwɔːkɪŋ/

close enough to be walked to

From this reading We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading We kept walking, up the gravel path between the unimaginatively clipped hedges.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Marooned far from home--with nothing to share his loneliness but humans!

Chapter 1 of The Rag and Bone Men by Algis Budrys holds 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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.

What does chapter 1 of The Rag and Bone Men contain?

Chapter 1 holds 208 sentences of The Rag and Bone Men, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of The Rag and Bone Men by Algis Budrys exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 208 sentences, grouped into 42 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of The Rag and Bone Men?

Work through the 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 42 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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Rag and Bone Men

Common questions about reading The Rag and Bone Men by Algis Budrys on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Rag and Bone Men?

Yes. All 208 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51589 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Rag and Bone Men is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #51589, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Rag and Bone Men take to read?

About 17 minutes of reading across 42 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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How to work through The Rag and Bone Men section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

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Vocabulary met early in The Rag and Bone Men

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Rag and Bone Men, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Unfortunate: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rag and Bone Men; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Castaway: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rag and Bone Men; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Marooned: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rag and Bone Men; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Home--with: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Rag and Bone Men; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter I

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Vocabulary met early in The Rag and Bone Men