Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 1561 sentences across 313 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 1561 sentences across 313 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He could remember all sorts of things, of course. And it seemed that he had always remembered them. Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself. There might be any number of such things. What were they?
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 1561 sentences across 313 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 17/312 · 5 reading units · Lines 81–85
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.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading “Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.”
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.”
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading “He could remember all sorts of things, of course.”
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.”
the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
From this reading “There might be any number of such things.”
To recall to mind.
From this reading “He could remember all sorts of things, of course.”
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading “And it seemed that he had always remembered them.”
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “He could remember all sorts of things, of course.”
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.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading He could remember all sorts of things, of course.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading And it seemed that he had always remembered them.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And it seemed that he had always remembered them.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading There might be any number of such things.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There might be any number of such things.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could remember all sorts of things, of course.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading He could remember all sorts of things, of course.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading And it seemed that he had always remembered them.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He could remember all sorts of things, of course.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And it seemed that he had always remembered them.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading There might be any number of such things.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
From this reading There might be any number of such things.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He could remember all sorts of things, of course.
To recall to mind.
From this reading He could remember all sorts of things, of course.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading And it seemed that he had always remembered them.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading And it seemed that he had always remembered them.
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading He could remember all sorts of things, of course.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading There might be any number of such things.
express in words
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And it seemed that he had always remembered them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading And it seemed that he had always remembered them.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There might be any number of such things.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading He could remember all sorts of things, of course.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading What were they?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What were they?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet his mother was able to tell him things of which he knew nothing at all, although they had happened to himself.
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child by Edwin Björkman holds 1561 sentences, grouped into 313 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 1561 sentences of The Soul of a Child, unabridged, divided into 313 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child by Edwin Björkman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1561 sentences, grouped into 313 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 313 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 313 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Soul of a Child, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
