Chapter 1 of The Seaside Sibyl is here in full — 513 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Seaside Sibyl is here in full — 513 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size. POISON! The thing desired found at last! SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure. Rats are smart but Rough on Rats beats them.
Chapter 1 of The Seaside Sibyl is here in full — 513 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/102 · 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 United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)
From this reading “Rats are smart but Rough on Rats beats them.”
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading “SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure.”
any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading “Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size.”
spoil as if by poison
From this reading “POISON!”
plural of “rat” — any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
From this reading “SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure.”
a small part of something intended as representative of the whole
From this reading “Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size.”
the physical magnitude of something (how big it is)
From this reading “Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size.”
showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness
From this reading “Rats are smart but Rough on Rats beats them.”
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.
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 Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Rats are smart but Rough on Rats beats them.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The thing desired found at last!
a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)
From this reading Rats are smart but Rough on Rats beats them.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Rats are smart but Rough on Rats beats them.
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure.
wanted intensely
From this reading The thing desired found at last!
take in solid food
From this reading SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure.
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure.
set up or found
From this reading The thing desired found at last!
immediately past
From this reading The thing desired found at last!
any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Rats are smart but Rough on Rats beats them.
on one occasion
From this reading SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size.
spoil as if by poison
From this reading POISON!
plural of “rat” — any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
From this reading SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure.
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading Rats are smart but Rough on Rats beats them.
a small part of something intended as representative of the whole
From this reading Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size.
the physical magnitude of something (how big it is)
From this reading Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Small Sample, 15c or Mouse Size.
showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness
From this reading Rats are smart but Rough on Rats beats them.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The thing desired found at last!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Rats are smart but Rough on Rats beats them.
a special situation
From this reading The thing desired found at last!
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading SOMETHING RATS WILL EAT, ONCE eaten Death sure.
Chapter 1 of The Seaside Sibyl by Anonymous holds 513 sentences, grouped into 103 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 513 sentences of The Seaside Sibyl, unabridged, divided into 103 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Seaside Sibyl by Anonymous exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 513 sentences, grouped into 103 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 103 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 103 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 Seaside Sibyl by Anonymous on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 513 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54037 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54037, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 42 minutes of reading across 103 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Seaside Sibyl section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Seaside Sibyl 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 Seaside Sibyl, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
