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At the Sign of the Silver Flagon
At the Sign of the Silver Flagon

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon is here in full — 23 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for At the Sign of the Silver Flagon
Context Illustration Reading 1/4 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.
II.
"THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."
III.
CUSTOS ROTULORUM.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

At the Sign of the Silver Flagon

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon is here in full — 23 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/4 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.
/aɪ ðə ˈkɜːrtən fɔːlz fɔːr ə briːf speɪs/
Line 2
II.
Line 3
"THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."
/ðə wɜːrld ɪz fʊl ʌv swiːt ənd ˈbjuːtəfəl ˈpleɪsəz/
Line 4
III.
Line 5
CUSTOS ROTULORUM.

Learner Dictionary

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.

beautiful adjective US /ˈbjuːtəfəl/

delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration

From this reading “"THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."”

brief adjective US /briːf/

of short duration or distance

From this reading “I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.”

curtain noun US /ˈkɜːrtən/

hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)

From this reading “I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.”

falls noun US /fɔːlz/

the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)

From this reading “I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.”

full adjective US /fʊl/

containing as much or as many as is possible or normal

From this reading “"THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."”

places noun US /ˈpleɪsəz/

plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region

From this reading “"THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."”

space noun US /speɪs/

the unlimited expanse in which everything is located

From this reading “I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.”

sweet adjective US /swiːt/

having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar

From this reading “"THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

CURTAIN FALLS noun + noun

In this reading “I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.”

BRIEF SPACE adjective + noun

In this reading “I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.”

All words in this reading · 20

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.

ANDconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading "THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."

BEAUTIFULadjectiveUS /ˈbjuːtəfəl/

delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration

From this reading "THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."

BRIEFadjectiveUS /briːf/

of short duration or distance

From this reading I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.

CURTAINnounUS /ˈkɜːrtən/

hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)

From this reading I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.

CUSTOS

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading CUSTOS ROTULORUM.

FALLSnounUS /fɔːlz/

the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)

From this reading I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.

FORprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.

FULLadjectiveUS /fʊl/

containing as much or as many as is possible or normal

From this reading "THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.

IInoun

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

From this reading II.

IIInoun

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

From this reading III.

ISauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading "THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."

PLACESnounUS /ˈpleɪsəz/

plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region

From this reading "THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."

ROTULORUM

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading CUSTOS ROTULORUM.

SPACEnounUS /speɪs/

the unlimited expanse in which everything is located

From this reading I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.

SWEETadjectiveUS /swiːt/

having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar

From this reading "THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading I. THE CURTAIN FALLS FOR A BRIEF SPACE.

WORLDnounUS /wɜːrld/

everything that exists anywhere

From this reading "THE WORLD IS FULL OF SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES."

Chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon holds 23 sentences, grouped into 5 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.

What does chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon contain?

Chapter 1 holds 23 sentences of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon, unabridged, divided into 5 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 23 sentences, grouped into 5 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon?

Work through the 5 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 5 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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading At the Sign of the Silver Flagon

Common questions about reading At the Sign of the Silver Flagon by B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon?

Yes. All 5583 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53062 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #53062, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does At the Sign of the Silver Flagon take to read?

About 465 minutes of reading across 1117 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read At the Sign of the Silver Flagon section by section

How to work through At the Sign of the Silver Flagon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 38 chapters of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in At the Sign of the Silver Flagon

Words and structures a reader meets early in At the Sign of the Silver Flagon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Curtain
A word that appears in the opening chapter of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Falls
A word that appears in the opening chapter of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Brief
A word that appears in the opening chapter of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Space
A word that appears in the opening chapter of At the Sign of the Silver Flagon; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.