Chapter 1 of Troubled Waters is here in full — 644 sentences across 129 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Troubled Waters is here in full — 644 sentences across 129 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc. Life is a ghastly joke sometimes. It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle. Instance this city man, turned logger. The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
Chapter 1 of Troubled Waters is here in full — 644 sentences across 129 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/128 · 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.
inflected form of “envy” — feel envious towards; admire enviously
From this reading “The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.”
covering with fine light hairs
From this reading “By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.”
a district in southwestern Scotland
From this reading “The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.”
plural of “lift” — the act of giving temporary assistance
From this reading “It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.”
a person who fells trees
From this reading “Instance this city man, turned logger.”
(architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a buttress of tower
From this reading “It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.”
a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water
From this reading “By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.”
United States writer whose novels argued for social reform (1878-1968)
From this reading “By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.”
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.
In this reading “The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.”
cause to burst with a violent release of energy
In this reading “It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.”
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 Life is a ghastly joke sometimes.
later than; following
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
plural of “blow” — a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
goods carried by a large vehicle
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Instance this city man, turned logger.
plural of “dream” — a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
inflected form of “envy” — feel envious towards; admire enviously
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
covering with fine light hairs
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
a district in southwestern Scotland
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
From this reading Life is a ghastly joke sometimes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
an occurrence of something
From this reading Instance this city man, turned logger.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Life is a ghastly joke sometimes.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading Life is a ghastly joke sometimes.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Life is a ghastly joke sometimes.
plural of “lift” — the act of giving temporary assistance
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
a person who fells trees
From this reading Instance this city man, turned logger.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
joined in matrimony
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
(architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a buttress of tower
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
United States writer whose novels argued for social reform (1878-1968)
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading Life is a ghastly joke sometimes.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Instance this city man, turned logger.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The first time I met Joe Galloway after he married, I envied him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Instance this city man, turned logger.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading It lifts a man to the pinnacle of his dreams—and then blows up the pinnacle.
a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Bertrand W. Sinclair Author of “Cargo Reef,” “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” Etc.
Chapter 1 of Troubled Waters by Bertrand W. Sinclair holds 644 sentences, grouped into 129 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 644 sentences of Troubled Waters, unabridged, divided into 129 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Troubled Waters by Bertrand W. Sinclair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 644 sentences, grouped into 129 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 129 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 129 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 Troubled Waters by Bertrand W. Sinclair on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 644 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67550 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67550, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 53 minutes of reading across 129 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Troubled Waters section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Troubled Waters 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 Troubled Waters, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
