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.
A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.” He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery. He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs. He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper. At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.
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 37/39 · 5 reading units · Lines 181–185
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 bodily process of inhalation and exhalation; the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation
From this reading “At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.”
a woodworker who makes or repairs wooden objects
From this reading “He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs.”
web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks
From this reading “A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.””
full of life and energy
From this reading “A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.””
take the midday meal
From this reading “At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.”
a child's room for a baby
From this reading “He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.”
a perceptual structure
From this reading “A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.””
past form of “telephone” — get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone
From this reading “He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs.”
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 A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.”
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.
the bodily process of inhalation and exhalation; the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation
From this reading At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
a woodworker who makes or repairs wooden objects
From this reading He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
recognizable; marked
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.”
divisible by two
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs.
set up or found
From this reading At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs.
web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks
From this reading A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
and nothing more
From this reading At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.
immediately past
From this reading At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.
full of life and energy
From this reading A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.”
take the midday meal
From this reading At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.
engage in
From this reading He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
a child's room for a baby
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
a perceptual structure
From this reading A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.”
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading At last, just before lunch, he found a breathing space.
refrain from harming
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs.
past form of “telephone” — get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone
From this reading He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He had already decided to change the spare room into a nursery.
the upper part of anything
From this reading He telephoned the carpenter to make a gate for the top of the stairs.
precisely as stated
From this reading A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was so busy that he did not even have time to think of his pipe, or the morning paper.
(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 A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading A lively Mother Goose pattern would do very well.”
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.
