Chapter 1 of The Transient Lake is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Transient Lake is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year. Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73. NEW YORK, MARCH 18, 1904. Price 5 Cents. He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
Chapter 1 of The Transient Lake is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
the act of bringing something to bear; using it for a particular purpose
From this reading “Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.”
a deep opening in the earth's surface
From this reading “He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.”
an item inserted in a written record
From this reading “Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.”
past form of “issue” — prepare and issue for public distribution or sale
at risk of or subject to experiencing something usually unpleasant
From this reading “He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.”
past form of “precipitate” — bring about abruptly
From this reading “He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.”
a payment for consecutive issues of a newspaper or magazine for a given period of time
From this reading “_Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.”
a periodical that is published every week (or 52 issues per year)
From this reading “_Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.”
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.
a local branch where postal services are available
In this reading “Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.”
by the year; every year (usually with reference to a sum of money paid or received)
In this reading “_Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.”
In this reading “_Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.”
In this reading “He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.”
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 NEW YORK, MARCH 18, 1904.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEW YORK, MARCH 18, 1904.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Price 5 Cents.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
the act of bringing something to bear; using it for a particular purpose
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading _Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.
plural of “cent” — a fractional monetary unit of several countries
From this reading Price 5 Cents.
a deep opening in the earth's surface
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
an item inserted in a written record
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
past form of “issue” — prepare and issue for public distribution or sale
From this reading _Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.
at risk of or subject to experiencing something usually unpleasant
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
march in a procession
From this reading NEW YORK, MARCH 18, 1904.
a particular point in time
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading NEW YORK, MARCH 18, 1904.
not any; not one
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
above and across; more than
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
for each
From this reading _Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.
affix in a public place or for public notice
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
past form of “precipitate” — bring about abruptly
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading Price 5 Cents.
of inferior status or quality
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
a payment for consecutive issues of a newspaper or magazine for a given period of time
From this reading _Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.
inflected form of “swing” — move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He swung to and fro over the chasm, liable at any moment to be precipitated to an awful death.
a periodical that is published every week (or 52 issues per year)
From this reading _Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.
a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys
From this reading Application made for Second-Class Entry at N. Y. Post Office._ No. 73.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading _Issued Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading NEW YORK, MARCH 18, 1904.
Chapter 1 of The Transient Lake by Luis Senarens holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 148 sentences of The Transient Lake, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Transient Lake by Luis Senarens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Transient Lake by Luis Senarens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1706 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55556 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55556, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 142 minutes of reading across 342 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Transient Lake section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Transient Lake 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 Transient Lake, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
