Better days
Better days by Thomas Fitch is available here as the complete text, split into 733 reading sections of 5 sentences, each with audio and tap-to-define vocabulary.
Better days by Thomas Fitch. Complete source text from Project Gutenberg eBook #67835.
Course Syllabus
This syllabus gives direct access to every published chapter and its complete sequence of five-line English readings.
Better days
Select a chapter to continue in the Cinema Lecture Hall with line-by-line English learning.
0 of 716 original contextual illustrations are live; remaining readings use the book cover while their artwork is reviewed.
- Chapter I “The earth trembled underneath their feet.”
- Chapter II “The light that shone when hope was born.”
- Chapter III “The storm is abroad in the mountains.”
- Chapter IV “Gold is the strength of the world.”
- Chapter V “The rich man’s joys increase the poor’s decay.”
- Chapter VI “No man can tell what he does not know.”
- Chapter VII “Sick to the soul.”
- Chapter VIII “Conceal what we impart.”
- Chapter IX “And then hid the key in a bundle of letters.”
- Chapter X “Lo! the poor Indian.”
- Chapter XI “It is only mirage.”
- Chapter XII “Secrecy is the soul of all great designs.”
- Chapter XIII “Hopeless grief is passionless.”
- Chapter XIV “In the name of God, take heed.”
- Chapter XV
- Chapter XVI “The conscience of well doing is an ample reward.”
- Chapter XVII “Plans of mice and men gang aft aglee.”
- Chapter XVIII “Uncle Sam to the rescue!”
- Chapter XIX
- Chapter XX “These are things which might be done.”
- Chapter XXI “Their country’s wealth, our mightier misers drain.”
- Chapter XXII “The product of ill-mated marriages.”
- Chapter XXIII “Happy peace and goodly government.”
- Chapter XXIV “A hospitable gate unbarred to all.”
- Chapter XXV “No more shall nation against nation rise.”
- Chapter XXVI “’Tis less to conquer than to make wars cease.”
- Chapter XXVII “As a guide my umpire conscience.”
- Chapter XXVIII “All’s well that ends well.”
This edition of Better days by Thomas Fitch carries the complete text of Project Gutenberg eBook #67835, divided into 28 chapters and 733 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.
Where can I read Better days in full?
The complete text of Better days is here, taken from Project Gutenberg eBook #67835 and divided into 733 sections.
This page carries the whole of Better days by Thomas Fitch, not an abridgement or a summary. The text comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #67835, with the Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence removed so that only the work itself remains. It runs to 3662 sentences across 28 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 Better days divided for reading?
Better days is presented in 28 chapters, each split into sections of 5 sentences for steady reading.
Rather than presenting Better days as unbroken pages, the text is grouped into 733 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 sections are gathered into 28 chapters.
Can I hear Better days read aloud?
Yes. Every sentence and every individual word of Better days can be played aloud, and each word shows its dictionary entry.
Every sentence of Better days 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 Better days
Common questions about reading Better days by Thomas Fitch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of Better days?
Yes. All 3662 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67835 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of Better days is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #67835, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does Better days take to read?
About 305 minutes of reading across 733 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read Better days section by section
How to work through Better days section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Better days to begin.
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Read one section
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
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Listen and tap
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Vocabulary met early in Better days
Words and structures a reader meets early in Better days, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Earth
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Better days; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Trembled
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Better days; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Underneath
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Better days; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Chicago
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of Better days; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.