A Cynic Looks at Life
A Cynic Looks at Life by Ambrose Bierce is available here as the complete text, split into 154 reading sections of 5 sentences, each with audio and tap-to-define vocabulary.
A Cynic Looks at Life by Ambrose Bierce. Complete source text from Project Gutenberg eBook #16340.
Course Syllabus
This syllabus gives direct access to every published chapter and its complete sequence of five-line English readings.
A Cynic Looks at Life
Select a chapter to continue in the Cinema Lecture Hall with line-by-line English learning.
0 of 153 original contextual illustrations are live; remaining readings use the book cover while their artwork is reviewed.
This edition of A Cynic Looks at Life by Ambrose Bierce carries the complete text of Project Gutenberg eBook #16340, divided into 1 chapters and 154 reading sections of 5 sentences each. Every sentence of the source is kept, and each chapter records which sentences cover which part of the story. Any word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry, and each section carries a contextual illustration generated from the passage itself.
Where can I read A Cynic Looks at Life in full?
The complete text of A Cynic Looks at Life is here, taken from Project Gutenberg eBook #16340 and divided into 154 sections.
This page carries the whole of A Cynic Looks at Life by Ambrose Bierce, not an abridgement or a summary. The text comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #16340, with the Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence removed so that only the work itself remains. It runs to 768 sentences across 1 chapters. Each chapter stores a record of which sentences cover which part of the work, so nothing is quietly dropped between the source edition and the page you read.
How is A Cynic Looks at Life divided for reading?
A Cynic Looks at Life is presented in 1 chapters, each split into sections of 5 sentences for steady reading.
Rather than presenting A Cynic Looks at Life as unbroken pages, the text is grouped into 154 sections of 5 sentences each. A section is short enough to hold in mind at once, which suits a reader working in a second language or returning to a long work in short sittings. The 1 chapters follow the divisions of the source edition, and each section carries a contextual illustration drawn from the passage it accompanies rather than a stock image.
Can I hear A Cynic Looks at Life read aloud?
Yes. Every sentence and every individual word of A Cynic Looks at Life can be played aloud, and each word shows its dictionary entry.
Every sentence of A Cynic Looks at Life can be played aloud, and so can any single word within it. Tapping a word plays it on its own and opens its dictionary entry, with the pronunciation shown in IPA alongside the part of speech and meaning. The reading voice uses United States English. This matters most for a work of this period, where a reader meets vocabulary and turns of phrase that are no longer in daily use and cannot be guessed reliably from spelling alone.
Questions about reading A Cynic Looks at Life
Common questions about reading A Cynic Looks at Life by Ambrose Bierce on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of A Cynic Looks at Life?
Yes. All 768 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16340 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of A Cynic Looks at Life is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #16340, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does A Cynic Looks at Life take to read?
About 64 minutes of reading across 154 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read A Cynic Looks at Life section by section
How to work through A Cynic Looks at Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
-
Open a chapter
Choose one of the 1 chapters of A Cynic Looks at Life to begin.
-
Read one section
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
-
Listen and tap
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Vocabulary met early in A Cynic Looks at Life
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Cynic Looks at Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Little
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Cynic Looks at Life; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Edited
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Cynic Looks at Life; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Haldeman-julius
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Cynic Looks at Life; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Question
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Cynic Looks at Life; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.