Chapter 1 of The Water-Babies is here in full — 302 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Water-Babies is here in full — 302 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Remember.” And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow. Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned. Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.” But when he got into the meadow, the woman was not there.
Chapter 1 of The Water-Babies is here in full — 302 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 19/60 · 5 reading units · Lines 91–95
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 movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading “And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.”
plural of “grime” — the state of being covered with unclean things
From this reading “Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.”
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading “And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.”
To recall to mind.
From this reading “Remember.””
done under pressure
From this reading “Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.””
encouragement in the form of cheers from spectators
From this reading “Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.””
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading “Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.”
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading “Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.
later than; following
From this reading Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.”
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But when he got into the meadow, the woman was not there.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.”
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading But when he got into the meadow, the woman was not there.
plural of “grime” — the state of being covered with unclean things
From this reading Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.
a particular point in time
From this reading Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But when he got into the meadow, the woman was not there.
To recall to mind.
From this reading Remember.”
done under pressure
From this reading Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.
encouragement in the form of cheers from spectators
From this reading Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.”
not in physical motion
From this reading Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.”
in or at that place or location
From this reading But when he got into the meadow, the woman was not there.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading And she turned away, and through a gate into the meadow.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But when he got into the meadow, the woman was not there.
at the time that
From this reading But when he got into the meadow, the woman was not there.
which person or people
From this reading Grimes stood still a moment, like a man who had been stunned.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading But when he got into the meadow, the woman was not there.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Then he rushed after her, shouting, “You come back.”
Chapter 1 of The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley holds 302 sentences, grouped into 61 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 302 sentences of The Water-Babies, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 302 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2578 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1018 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1018, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 214 minutes of reading across 516 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Water-Babies section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Water-Babies 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 Water-Babies, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
