Chapter 1 of A Young Man's Year is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Young Man's Year is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March. A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple. Everything looked a dull drab. Certainly it was a beastly morning. Moreover--to add to its offences--it was Monday morning.
Chapter 1 of A Young Man's Year is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
(informal) very unpleasant
From this reading “Certainly it was a beastly morning.”
unpleasantly cool and humid
From this reading “It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.”
lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
From this reading “Everything looked a dull drab.”
past form of “drift” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.”
wet with light rain
From this reading “It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.”
become covered with mist
From this reading “A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.”
the second day of the week; the first working day
From this reading “Moreover--to add to its offences--it was Monday morning.”
any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading “A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.”
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 “A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.”
In this reading “A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.”
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 dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading Moreover--to add to its offences--it was Monday morning.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
(informal) very unpleasant
From this reading Certainly it was a beastly morning.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Certainly it was a beastly morning.
unpleasantly cool and humid
From this reading It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.
lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
From this reading Everything looked a dull drab.
past form of “drift” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
wet with light rain
From this reading It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Everything looked a dull drab.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Moreover--to add to its offences--it was Monday morning.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Everything looked a dull drab.
march in a procession
From this reading It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
become covered with mist
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
the second day of the week; the first working day
From this reading Moreover--to add to its offences--it was Monday morning.
in addition to what has just been said
From this reading Moreover--to add to its offences--it was Monday morning.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Moreover--to add to its offences--it was Monday morning.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
any broad thin expanse or surface
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
place of worship consisting of an edifice for the worship of a deity
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading A dull mist filled all the air, and the rain drifted in a thin sheet across the garden of the Middle Temple.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Moreover--to add to its offences--it was Monday morning.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was a dark, dank, drizzly morning in March.
Chapter 1 of A Young Man's Year by Anthony Hope holds 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 165 sentences of A Young Man's Year, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Young Man's Year by Anthony Hope exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 Young Man's Year by Anthony Hope on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8148 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43083 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43083, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1630 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Young Man's Year section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of A Young Man's Year 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 Young Man's Year, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
