Chapter 1 of Thomas Wingfold, Curate V2 is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Thomas Wingfold, Curate V2 is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
RACHEL AND HER UNCLE. It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge. Rachel opened the gate for them. Without even a THANK YOU, they rode out. She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
Chapter 1 of Thomas Wingfold, Curate V2 is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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 time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.”
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading “Rachel opened the gate for them.”
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.”
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading “She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.”
be a lodger; stay temporarily
From this reading “It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.”
(Old Testament) the second wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin
From this reading “RACHEL AND HER UNCLE.”
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading “Without even a THANK YOU, they rode out.”
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.”
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 Without even a THANK YOU, they rode out.
later than; following
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
anew
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading RACHEL AND HER UNCLE.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
divisible by two
From this reading Without even a THANK YOU, they rode out.
start firing a weapon
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Rachel opened the gate for them.
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading Rachel opened the gate for them.
-ing form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading RACHEL AND HER UNCLE.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
be a lodger; stay temporarily
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
a particular point in time
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Rachel opened the gate for them.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Without even a THANK YOU, they rode out.
(Old Testament) the second wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin
From this reading RACHEL AND HER UNCLE.
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading Without even a THANK YOU, they rode out.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading Without even a THANK YOU, they rode out.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Rachel opened the gate for them.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading RACHEL AND HER UNCLE.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
at the time that
From this reading It was nearly dark when they arrived again at the lodge.
in or at the place that
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She stood for a moment gazing after them through the dusk, then turned with a sigh, and went into the kitchen, where her uncle sat by the fire with a book in his hand.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Without even a THANK YOU, they rode out.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Without even a THANK YOU, they rode out.
Chapter 1 of Thomas Wingfold, Curate V2 by George MacDonald holds 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 71 sentences of Thomas Wingfold, Curate V2, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Thomas Wingfold, Curate V2 by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 Thomas Wingfold, Curate V2 by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2698 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5974 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5974, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 224 minutes of reading across 540 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Thomas Wingfold, Curate V2 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Thomas Wingfold, Curate V2 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 Thomas Wingfold, Curate V2, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
