Chapter 1 of The Valley of the Moon is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Valley of the Moon is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“You hear me, Saxon? Come on along. What if it is the Bricklayers? I'll have gentlemen friends there, and so'll you. The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.
Chapter 1 of The Valley of the Moon is here in full — 146 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.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading “Come on along.”
plural of “bricklayer” — a craftsman skilled in building with bricks
From this reading “What if it is the Bricklayers?”
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading “I'll have gentlemen friends there, and so'll you.”
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading “I'll have gentlemen friends there, and so'll you.”
relating to or inhabiting a divine heaven
From this reading “The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.”
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading “The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.”
a member of a Germanic people who conquered England and merged with the Angles and Jutes to become Anglo-Saxons; dominant in England until the Norman Conquest
From this reading ““You hear me, Saxon?”
the visual percept of a region
From this reading “The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.”
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.
a silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite
From this reading The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Come on along.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I'll have gentlemen friends there, and so'll you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.
plural of “bricklayer” — a craftsman skilled in building with bricks
From this reading What if it is the Bricklayers?
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come on along.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading I'll have gentlemen friends there, and so'll you.
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading I'll have gentlemen friends there, and so'll you.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I'll have gentlemen friends there, and so'll you.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “You hear me, Saxon?
relating to or inhabiting a divine heaven
From this reading The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll have gentlemen friends there, and so'll you.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading What if it is the Bricklayers?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What if it is the Bricklayers?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading What if it is the Bricklayers?
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “You hear me, Saxon?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Come on along.
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.
a member of a Germanic people who conquered England and merged with the Angles and Jutes to become Anglo-Saxons; dominant in England until the Norman Conquest
From this reading “You hear me, Saxon?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll have gentlemen friends there, and so'll you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading What if it is the Bricklayers?
in or at that place or location
From this reading I'll have gentlemen friends there, and so'll you.
the visual percept of a region
From this reading The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What if it is the Bricklayers?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You hear me, Saxon?
Chapter 1 of The Valley of the Moon by Jack London holds 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 146 sentences of The Valley of the Moon, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Valley of the Moon by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 146 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 Valley of the Moon by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13507 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1449 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1449, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2702 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Valley of the Moon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Valley of the Moon 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 Valley of the Moon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
