Chapter 15 of A Man's World is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of A Man's World is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Suddenly it rained. Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances. It poured—soaking and cold. It was a serious matter for us. We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
Chapter 15 of A Man's World is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
plural of “chance” — a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading “Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.”
past form of “hinge” — attach with a hinge
From this reading “Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.”
broadly or extravagantly humorous; resembling farce
From this reading “Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.”
being on the outside or further from a center
From this reading “We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.”
past form of “rain” — precipitate as rain
From this reading “Suddenly it rained.”
the process of becoming softened and saturated as a consequence of being immersed in water (or other liquid)
From this reading “It poured—soaking and cold.”
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading “Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.”
the act of going from one place to another
From this reading “We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.”
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 “It was a serious matter for us.”
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 It was a serious matter for us.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It poured—soaking and cold.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
plural of “chance” — a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
clothing in general
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading It poured—soaking and cold.
apart from; not including
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It was a serious matter for us.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
past form of “hinge” — attach with a hinge
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Suddenly it rained.
and nothing more
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
broadly or extravagantly humorous; resembling farce
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading It was a serious matter for us.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
not any; not one
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
being on the outside or further from a center
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
past form of “pour” — cause to run
From this reading It poured—soaking and cold.
past form of “rain” — precipitate as rain
From this reading Suddenly it rained.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading It was a serious matter for us.
the process of becoming softened and saturated as a consequence of being immersed in water (or other liquid)
From this reading It poured—soaking and cold.
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Much of my life has hinged on just such stupid, ludicrous chances.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Suddenly it rained.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
the act of going from one place to another
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It was a serious matter for us.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a serious matter for us.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
in the company of; together with
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading We were traveling light, with nothing but our rucksacs nearer than Paris, no outer clothes except those we wore.
Chapter 15 of A Man's World by Albert Edwards holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 15 holds 399 sentences of A Man's World, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of A Man's World by Albert Edwards exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 15 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 Man's World by Albert Edwards on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6782 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44878 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44878, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 565 minutes of reading across 1357 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Man's World section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of A Man's World 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 Man's World, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
