Chapter 1 of The Wreck is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Wreck is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE WRECK. _ILLUSTRATED._ NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, & CO. _PUBLISHERS._ THE WRECK. Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?" Ollie stopped swinging and listened.
Chapter 1 of The Wreck is here in full — 247 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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 particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading “Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"”
a small growth of trees without underbrush
From this reading “Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"”
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
United States anthropologist noted for her claims about adolescence and sexual behavior in Polynesian cultures (1901-1978)
From this reading “_ILLUSTRATED._ NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, & CO.”
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"”
plural of “publisher” — a firm in the publishing business
changing location by moving back and forth
From this reading “Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"”
something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation
From this reading “THE WRECK.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Ollie stopped swinging and listened.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
a young person of either sex
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, & CO.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, & CO.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
a small growth of trees without underbrush
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, & CO.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading Ollie stopped swinging and listened.
United States anthropologist noted for her claims about adolescence and sexual behavior in Polynesian cultures (1901-1978)
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, & CO.
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, & CO.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
plural of “publisher” — a firm in the publishing business
From this reading _PUBLISHERS._ THE WRECK.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading Ollie stopped swinging and listened.
changing location by moving back and forth
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE WRECK.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
at the time that
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
in or at the place that
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation
From this reading THE WRECK.
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 _ILLUSTRATED._ NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD, & CO.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the old farm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie! where are you, child?"
Chapter 1 of The Wreck by Anonymous holds 247 sentences, grouped into 50 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 247 sentences of The Wreck, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Wreck by Anonymous exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 247 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 Wreck by Anonymous on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 247 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18522 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18522, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 20 minutes of reading across 50 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Wreck section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Wreck 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 Wreck, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
