Chapter 1 of Weird Tales. Vol. 1 (of 2) is here in full — 1815 sentences across 363 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Weird Tales. Vol. 1 (of 2) is here in full — 1815 sentences across 363 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I. CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. THE CREMONA VIOLIN. Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
Chapter 1 of Weird Tales. Vol. 1 (of 2) is here in full — 1815 sentences across 363 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/363 · 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.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading “CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.”
at any time
From this reading “Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.”
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading “Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.”
superlative of “odd” — not divisible by two
From this reading “Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.”
superlative of “strange” — being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading “Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.”
bowed stringed instrument that is the highest member of the violin family; this instrument has four strings and a hollow body and an unfretted fingerboard and is played with a bow
From this reading “THE CREMONA VIOLIN.”
the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading “CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.”
plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading “IN TWO VOLUMES VOL.”
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 “IN TWO VOLUMES VOL.”
In this reading “Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.”
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.
(usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
From this reading CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
a member of a council
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
a city in Lombardy on the Po River; noted for the manufacture of fine violins from the 16th to the 18th centuries
From this reading THE CREMONA VIOLIN.
at any time
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN TWO VOLUMES VOL.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
the force of workers available
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
superlative of “odd” — not divisible by two
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
superlative of “strange” — being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CREMONA VIOLIN.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading IN TWO VOLUMES VOL.
bowed stringed instrument that is the highest member of the violin family; this instrument has four strings and a hollow body and an unfretted fingerboard and is played with a bow
From this reading THE CREMONA VIOLIN.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading IN TWO VOLUMES VOL.
the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading IN TWO VOLUMES VOL.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Councillor Krespel was one of the strangest, oddest men I ever met with in my life.
Chapter 1 of Weird Tales. Vol. 1 (of 2) by E. T. A. (Ernst Theodor Amadeus) Hoffmann holds 1815 sentences, grouped into 363 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 1815 sentences of Weird Tales. Vol. 1 (of 2), unabridged, divided into 363 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Weird Tales. Vol. 1 (of 2) by E. T. A. (Ernst Theodor Amadeus) Hoffmann exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1815 sentences, grouped into 363 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 363 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 363 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 Weird Tales. Vol. 1 (of 2) by E. T. A. (Ernst Theodor Amadeus) Hoffmann on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4182 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31377 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31377, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 348 minutes of reading across 837 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Weird Tales. Vol. 1 (of 2) section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Weird Tales. Vol. 1 (of 2) 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 Weird Tales. Vol. 1 (of 2), each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
