Chapter 1 of The Woodman is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Woodman is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon. She lights lovers and thieves. She keeps watch-dogs waking. She is a constant resource to poets and romance-writers. She helps the compounders of almanacks amazingly.
Chapter 1 of The Woodman is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/6 · 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.
in an amazing manner; to everyone's surprise
From this reading “She helps the compounders of almanacks amazingly.”
plural of “help” — the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading “She helps the compounders of almanacks amazingly.”
plural of “neighbour” — a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading “Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.”
plural of “poet” — a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading “She is a constant resource to poets and romance-writers.”
available source of wealth; a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed
From this reading “She is a constant resource to poets and romance-writers.”
ready for service or able to give long service
From this reading “Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.”
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading “She lights lovers and thieves.”
Risen from sleep; conscious.
From this reading “She keeps watch-dogs waking.”
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.
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 She is a constant resource to poets and romance-writers.
(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 Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She helps the compounders of almanacks amazingly.
in an amazing manner; to everyone's surprise
From this reading She helps the compounders of almanacks amazingly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She lights lovers and thieves.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She helps the compounders of almanacks amazingly.
unvarying in nature
From this reading She is a constant resource to poets and romance-writers.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
plural of “help” — the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading She helps the compounders of almanacks amazingly.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She is a constant resource to poets and romance-writers.
plural of “keep” — the financial means whereby one lives
From this reading She keeps watch-dogs waking.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading She lights lovers and thieves.
plural of “lover” — a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading She lights lovers and thieves.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
plural of “neighbour” — a person who lives (or is located) near another
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
not one, and not any
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
plural of “poet” — a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading She is a constant resource to poets and romance-writers.
available source of wealth; a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed
From this reading She is a constant resource to poets and romance-writers.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She is a constant resource to poets and romance-writers.
ready for service or able to give long service
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She lights lovers and thieves.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading She lights lovers and thieves.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Of all the hard-working people on the earth, there are none so serviceable to her neighbours as the moon.
Risen from sleep; conscious.
From this reading She keeps watch-dogs waking.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She keeps watch-dogs waking.
Chapter 1 of The Woodman by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James holds 32 sentences, grouped into 7 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 32 sentences of The Woodman, unabridged, divided into 7 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Woodman by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 32 sentences, grouped into 7 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 7 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 7 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 Woodman by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7881 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50329 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50329, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1577 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Woodman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Woodman 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 Woodman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
