Chapter 1 of A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY. [_Exalted_] Yes--yes--yes! [_He catches her to him._] MARGARET. For pity’s sake, Hilary--! BASSETT.
Chapter 1 of A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading “_He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.”
plural of “catch” — a drawback or difficulty that is not readily evident
From this reading “[_He catches her to him._] MARGARET.”
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading “_He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.”
of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
fully extended especially in length
From this reading “_He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.”
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading “For pity’s sake, Hilary--!”
an affirmative
From this reading “[_Exalted_] Yes--yes--yes!”
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 “_He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.”
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.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BASSETT.
plural of “catch” — a drawback or difficulty that is not readily evident
From this reading [_He catches her to him._] MARGARET.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style
From this reading [_Exalted_] Yes--yes--yes!
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For pity’s sake, Hilary--!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading [_He catches her to him._] MARGARET.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
not any; not one
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
fully extended especially in length
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For pity’s sake, Hilary--!
a reason for wanting something done
From this reading For pity’s sake, Hilary--!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
in the company of; together with
From this reading _He comes to her with outstretched arms._ MARGARET [_Faintly_] No--no--no-- HILARY.
an affirmative
From this reading [_Exalted_] Yes--yes--yes!
Chapter 1 of A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts by Clemence Dane holds 442 sentences, grouped into 89 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 442 sentences of A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts by Clemence Dane exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 442 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts by Clemence Dane on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 860 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62703 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62703, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 71 minutes of reading across 172 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts 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 A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
