Chapter 1 of Where the Blue Begins is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Where the Blue Begins is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish. They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened. “This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked. “Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say. Well, there is only one thing to do.”
Chapter 1 of Where the Blue Begins is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 21/39 · 5 reading units · Lines 101–105
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.
lacking definite form or limits
From this reading “They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.”
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
From this reading ““This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.”
crowded or massed together
From this reading “They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish.”
plural of “pledge” — a deposit of personal property as security for a debt
From this reading ““Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say.”
the act of giving a false appearance
From this reading ““This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.”
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading ““This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish.”
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 They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
lacking definite form or limits
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading “Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say.
dearly loved
From this reading “Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Well, there is only one thing to do.”
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish.
opinion or judgment
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
From this reading “This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish.
crowded or massed together
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say.
free from evil or guilt
From this reading “Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.
and nothing more
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Well, there is only one thing to do.”
and nothing more
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish.
plural of “pledge” — a deposit of personal property as security for a debt
From this reading “Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say.
the act of giving a false appearance
From this reading “This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.
express in words
From this reading “Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.
estrangement from god
From this reading “Dear me, innocent pledges of sin, I dare say.
a person, without saying who
From this reading Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
a special situation
From this reading Well, there is only one thing to do.”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “This is gruesome,” said Gissing, pretending to be shocked.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Someone had left them there, evidently, to perish.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, there is only one thing to do.”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were huddled close together; their eyes, a cloudy unspeculative blue, were only just opened.
Chapter 1 of Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley holds 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 199 sentences of Where the Blue Begins, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2507 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1402 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1402, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 208 minutes of reading across 502 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Where the Blue Begins section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Where the Blue Begins 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 Where the Blue Begins, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
