Chapter 1 of A bitter reckoning is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A bitter reckoning is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AT MIDNIGHT. “Will be with you to-morrow at midnight. Prepare for a bitter reckoning. “Gilbert Warrington.” Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
Chapter 1 of A bitter reckoning is here in full — 150 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.”
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading “Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.”
a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns
From this reading ““Gilbert Warrington.””
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading “AT MIDNIGHT.”
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading “Prepare for a bitter reckoning.”
problem solving that involves numbers or quantities
From this reading “Prepare for a bitter reckoning.”
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.”
three times
From this reading “Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.”
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 “Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.”
In this reading “Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.”
In this reading “Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.”
In this reading “AT MIDNIGHT.”
prepare mentally or emotionally for something unpleasant
In this reading “Prepare for a bitter reckoning.”
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 Prepare for a bitter reckoning.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT MIDNIGHT.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Will be with you to-morrow at midnight.
marked by strong resentment or cynicism
From this reading Prepare for a bitter reckoning.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Prepare for a bitter reckoning.
a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns
From this reading “Gilbert Warrington.”
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading AT MIDNIGHT.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
on one occasion
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
above and across; more than
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
From this reading Prepare for a bitter reckoning.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
problem solving that involves numbers or quantities
From this reading Prepare for a bitter reckoning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
three times
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Will be with you to-morrow at midnight.
two times
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Gilbert Warrington.”
during the time that
From this reading Rosamond Arleigh read the telegram over and over--once, twice, thrice, and her face grew pale as death, while into her dark eyes there crept a look of desperation.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “Will be with you to-morrow at midnight.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Will be with you to-morrow at midnight.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Will be with you to-morrow at midnight.
Chapter 1 of A bitter reckoning by E. Burke, Mrs. Collins holds 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 150 sentences of A bitter reckoning, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A bitter reckoning by E. Burke, Mrs. Collins exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 150 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 bitter reckoning by E. Burke, Mrs. Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3618 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70139 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70139, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 301 minutes of reading across 724 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A bitter reckoning section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of A bitter reckoning 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 bitter reckoning, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
