Chapter 1 of The Return of the Native is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Return of the Native is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II. Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III. The Custom of the Country IV. The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI. The Figure against the Sky VII.
Chapter 1 of The Return of the Native is here in full — 203 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.”
accepted or habitual practice
From this reading “The Custom of the Country IV.”
cause to stop
From this reading “The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.”
the quality of being humane
From this reading “Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.”
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
From this reading “PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.”
trouble or confusion resulting from complexity
From this reading “The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.”
a short introductory essay preceding the text of a book
From this reading “PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.”
(from 16th to 19th centuries) gates set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid
From this reading “The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.”
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 PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The Figure against the Sky VII.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading The Custom of the Country IV.
accepted or habitual practice
From this reading The Custom of the Country IV.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading The Figure against the Sky VII.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
cause to stop
From this reading The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.
the quality of being humane
From this reading Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Custom of the Country IV.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Custom of the Country IV.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.
trouble or confusion resulting from complexity
From this reading The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.
a short introductory essay preceding the text of a book
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The Figure against the Sky VII.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
a source of difficulty
From this reading Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.
(from 16th to 19th centuries) gates set across a road to prevent passage until a toll had been paid
From this reading The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.
a unit of potential equal to the potential difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between the two points is 1 watt
From this reading The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading The Halt on the Turnpike Road V. Perplexity among Honest People VI.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Figure against the Sky VII.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Humanity Appears upon the Scene, Hand in Hand with Trouble III.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading PREFACE BOOK FIRST—THE THREE WOMEN I. A Face on Which Time Makes but Little Impression II.
Chapter 1 of The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy holds 203 sentences, grouped into 41 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 203 sentences of The Return of the Native, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 203 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8619 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #122 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #122, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1724 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Return of the Native section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Return of the Native 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 Return of the Native, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
