Chapter 1 of Trouble is here in full — 748 sentences across 150 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Trouble is here in full — 748 sentences across 150 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head. At once, he was out of bed. He consulted first the calendar and then the clock. The thought struck him funny. He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
Chapter 1 of Trouble is here in full — 748 sentences across 150 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/149 · 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 act of admitting someone to enter
From this reading “He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.”
the act of waking
From this reading “He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.”
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.”
a system of timekeeping that defines the beginning and length and divisions of the year
From this reading “He consulted first the calendar and then the clock.”
past form of “construe” — make sense of; assign a meaning to
From this reading “He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.”
past form of “consult” — get or ask advice from
From this reading “He consulted first the calendar and then the clock.”
-ing form of “consult” — get or ask advice from
From this reading “Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.”
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading “Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.”
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.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “At once, he was out of bed.”
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 Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
the act of admitting someone to enter
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He consulted first the calendar and then the clock.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At once, he was out of bed.
the act of waking
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading At once, he was out of bed.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
a system of timekeeping that defines the beginning and length and divisions of the year
From this reading He consulted first the calendar and then the clock.
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading He consulted first the calendar and then the clock.
past form of “construe” — make sense of; assign a meaning to
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
past form of “consult” — get or ask advice from
From this reading He consulted first the calendar and then the clock.
-ing form of “consult” — get or ask advice from
From this reading Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
the act of consuming liquids
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
From this reading Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading He consulted first the calendar and then the clock.
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading The thought struck him funny.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At once, he was out of bed.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The thought struck him funny.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
on one occasion
From this reading At once, he was out of bed.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading At once, he was out of bed.
move or cause to move back and forth
From this reading Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading The thought struck him funny.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He consulted first the calendar and then the clock.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He consulted first the calendar and then the clock.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The thought struck him funny.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
male cat
From this reading Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading At once, he was out of bed.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He hadn't been drinking, but the idea of looking at a calendar upon awakening might be construed as an admission that he didn't know what time of what day it was.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, awoke with a shake of his head.
Chapter 1 of Trouble by George O. (George Oliver) Smith holds 748 sentences, grouped into 150 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 748 sentences of Trouble, unabridged, divided into 150 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Trouble by George O. (George Oliver) Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 748 sentences, grouped into 150 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 150 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 150 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Trouble section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Trouble 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 Trouble, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
