Chapter 1 of The real Mackay is here in full — 729 sentences across 146 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The real Mackay is here in full — 729 sentences across 146 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WIDOW MACKAY, _tenant of Balree Croft_. MÀIRI[1] MACKAY, _her daughter, a domestic servant_. “SANDY” SPEEDWELL, _artist and poet, of Edinburgh_. MRS SPEEDWELL, _his mother_. SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
Chapter 1 of The real Mackay is here in full — 729 sentences across 146 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/145 · 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.
a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
a small farm worked by a crofter
of concern to or concerning the internal affairs of a nation
From this reading “MÀIRI[1] MACKAY, _her daughter, a domestic servant_.”
the capital of Scotland; located in the Lothian Region on the south side of the Firth of Forth
a mountainous region of northern Scotland famous for its rugged beauty; known for the style of dress (the kilt and tartan) and the clan system (now in disuse)
From this reading “SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.”
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading ““SANDY” SPEEDWELL, _artist and poet, of Edinburgh_.”
the dialect of English used in Scotland
From this reading “SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.”
someone who pays rent to use land or a building or a car that is owned by someone else
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 “MÀIRI[1] MACKAY, _her daughter, a domestic servant_.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MÀIRI[1] MACKAY, _her daughter, a domestic servant_.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading MÀIRI[1] MACKAY, _her daughter, a domestic servant_.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “SANDY” SPEEDWELL, _artist and poet, of Edinburgh_.
a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
From this reading “SANDY” SPEEDWELL, _artist and poet, of Edinburgh_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WIDOW MACKAY, _tenant of Balree Croft_.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
a small house with a single story
From this reading SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
a small farm worked by a crofter
From this reading WIDOW MACKAY, _tenant of Balree Croft_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
a female human offspring
From this reading MÀIRI[1] MACKAY, _her daughter, a domestic servant_.
of concern to or concerning the internal affairs of a nation
From this reading MÀIRI[1] MACKAY, _her daughter, a domestic servant_.
the capital of Scotland; located in the Lothian Region on the south side of the Firth of Forth
From this reading “SANDY” SPEEDWELL, _artist and poet, of Edinburgh_.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading MÀIRI[1] MACKAY, _her daughter, a domestic servant_.
a mountainous region of northern Scotland famous for its rugged beauty; known for the style of dress (the kilt and tartan) and the clan system (now in disuse)
From this reading SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading MRS SPEEDWELL, _his mother_.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WIDOW MACKAY, _tenant of Balree Croft_.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading MRS SPEEDWELL, _his mother_.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS SPEEDWELL, _his mother_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MÀIRI[1] MACKAY, _her daughter, a domestic servant_.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WIDOW MACKAY, _tenant of Balree Croft_.
a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading “SANDY” SPEEDWELL, _artist and poet, of Edinburgh_.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading “SANDY” SPEEDWELL, _artist and poet, of Edinburgh_.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
the dialect of English used in Scotland
From this reading SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading MÀIRI[1] MACKAY, _her daughter, a domestic servant_.
any plant of the genus Veronica
From this reading “SANDY” SPEEDWELL, _artist and poet, of Edinburgh_.
someone who pays rent to use land or a building or a car that is owned by someone else
From this reading WIDOW MACKAY, _tenant of Balree Croft_.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading SCENE: _The “best room” in a crofter’s cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading WIDOW MACKAY, _tenant of Balree Croft_.
Chapter 1 of The real Mackay by Donald A. (Donald Alexander) Mackenzie holds 729 sentences, grouped into 146 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 729 sentences of The real Mackay, unabridged, divided into 146 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The real Mackay by Donald A. (Donald Alexander) Mackenzie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 729 sentences, grouped into 146 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 146 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 146 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 real Mackay by Donald A. (Donald Alexander) Mackenzie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 729 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75546 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75546, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 60 minutes of reading across 146 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The real Mackay section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The real Mackay 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 real Mackay, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
