Chapter 1 of The Sowers is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Sowers is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle. "That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff. And the horse has been dragging him face downward. God in heaven! this will be unpleasant." Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
Chapter 1 of The Sowers is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
extending or moving from a higher to a lower place
From this reading “And the horse has been dragging him face downward.”
marked by a painfully slow and effortful manner
From this reading “And the horse has been dragging him face downward.”
an occurrence of control or strength weakening
From this reading “Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.”
United States electrical engineer and inventor (born in Germany) (1865-1923)
From this reading “BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.”
not moving or operating freely
From this reading “"That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff.”
support consisting of metal loops into which rider's feet go
From this reading “Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.”
offensive or disagreeable; causing discomfort or unhappiness
From this reading “BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.”
a Russian river; the longest river in Europe; flows into the Caspian Sea
From this reading “BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.”
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.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And the horse has been dragging him face downward.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading "That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading "That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff.
extending or moving from a higher to a lower place
From this reading And the horse has been dragging him face downward.
marked by a painfully slow and effortful manner
From this reading And the horse has been dragging him face downward.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading And the horse has been dragging him face downward.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading God in heaven! this will be unpleasant."
the act of departing
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading God in heaven! this will be unpleasant."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And the horse has been dragging him face downward.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading And the horse has been dragging him face downward.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading God in heaven! this will be unpleasant."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
an occurrence of control or strength weakening
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
put a saddle on
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff.
United States electrical engineer and inventor (born in Germany) (1865-1923)
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
not moving or operating freely
From this reading "That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff.
support consisting of metal loops into which rider's feet go
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That man is dead--has been dead some days; he's stiff.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
offensive or disagreeable; causing discomfort or unhappiness
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
a Russian river; the longest river in Europe; flows into the Caspian Sea
From this reading BY THE VOLGA "This is going to be unpleasant," muttered Steinmetz, as he cumbrously left the saddle.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Paul had leaped to the ground, and was already loosening the dead man's foot from the stirrup.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading God in heaven! this will be unpleasant."
Chapter 1 of The Sowers by Henry Seton Merriman holds 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 205 sentences of The Sowers, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Sowers by Henry Seton Merriman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 205 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 Sowers by Henry Seton Merriman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7928 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10132 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10132, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1586 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sowers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Sowers 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 Sowers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
