Chapter 1 of A Girl in Ten Thousand is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Girl in Ten Thousand is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You are the comfort of my life, Effie. If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?" The speaker was a middle-aged woman. She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor. The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
Chapter 1 of A Girl in Ten Thousand is here in full — 330 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/66 · 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.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading “"You are the comfort of my life, Effie.”
having lost freshness or brilliance of color
From this reading “The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.”
furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy
From this reading “The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.”
being roughly between 45 and 65 years old
From this reading “The speaker was a middle-aged woman.”
reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received
From this reading “She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.”
showing signs of wear and tear
From this reading “She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.”
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.”
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading “The speaker was a middle-aged woman.”
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 The speaker was a middle-aged woman.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "You are the comfort of my life, Effie.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
a brightly printed and glazed cotton fabric
From this reading The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading "You are the comfort of my life, Effie.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You are the comfort of my life, Effie.
having lost freshness or brilliance of color
From this reading The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy
From this reading The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "You are the comfort of my life, Effie.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.
engage in
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
being roughly between 45 and 65 years old
From this reading The speaker was a middle-aged woman.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "You are the comfort of my life, Effie.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "You are the comfort of my life, Effie.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received
From this reading She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
showing signs of wear and tear
From this reading She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading She was lying on a sofa in a shabby little parlor.
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading The speaker was a middle-aged woman.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "You are the comfort of my life, Effie.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The speaker was a middle-aged woman.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading The sofa was covered with horse-hair, the room had a faded paper, and faded chintz covered the shabby furniture.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The speaker was a middle-aged woman.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You are the comfort of my life, Effie.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading If you make up your mind to go away, what is to become of me?"
Chapter 1 of A Girl in Ten Thousand by L. T. Meade holds 330 sentences, grouped into 66 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 330 sentences of A Girl in Ten Thousand, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Girl in Ten Thousand by L. T. Meade exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 330 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 Girl in Ten Thousand by L. T. Meade on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4013 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19761 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19761, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 334 minutes of reading across 803 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Girl in Ten Thousand section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of A Girl in Ten Thousand 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 Girl in Ten Thousand, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
