Chapter 1 of Trains at Work is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Trains at Work is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GARDEN CITY BOOKS GARDEN CITY, N.Y. Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive. Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders. His father was a locomotive engineer. His grandfather was one, too.
Chapter 1 of Trains at Work is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/96 · 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.
third-person singular of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.”
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading “His father was a locomotive engineer.”
play in which children pretend to put out a fire
From this reading “Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.”
goods carried by a large vehicle
From this reading “Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.”
the father of your father or mother
From this reading “His grandfather was one, too.”
a wheeled vehicle consisting of a self-propelled engine that is used to draw trains along railway tracks
From this reading “Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.”
a large number or amount
From this reading “Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.”
plural of “train” — public transport provided by a line of railway cars coupled together and drawn by a locomotive
From this reading “Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.”
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 Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.
third-person singular of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading GARDEN CITY BOOKS GARDEN CITY, N.Y.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading GARDEN CITY BOOKS GARDEN CITY, N.Y.
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading His father was a locomotive engineer.
a social unit living together
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading His father was a locomotive engineer.
play in which children pretend to put out a fire
From this reading Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.
goods carried by a large vehicle
From this reading Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading GARDEN CITY BOOKS GARDEN CITY, N.Y.
the father of your father or mother
From this reading His grandfather was one, too.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His father was a locomotive engineer.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
a wheeled vehicle consisting of a self-propelled engine that is used to draw trains along railway tracks
From this reading Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.
a large number or amount
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading GARDEN CITY BOOKS GARDEN CITY, N.Y.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading His grandfather was one, too.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Sam is the fireman on a big freight locomotive.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading His grandfather was one, too.
plural of “train” — public transport provided by a line of railway cars coupled together and drawn by a locomotive
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His father was a locomotive engineer.
which person or people
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Like lots of people who work on trains, Sam belongs to a family of railroaders.
a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys
From this reading GARDEN CITY BOOKS GARDEN CITY, N.Y.
Chapter 1 of Trains at Work by Mary Elting holds 480 sentences, grouped into 96 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 480 sentences of Trains at Work, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Trains at Work by Mary Elting exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 480 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 Trains at Work by Mary Elting on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 800 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55525 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55525, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 66 minutes of reading across 160 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Trains at Work section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Trains at Work 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 Trains at Work, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
