Chapter 1 of Cheerful—By Request is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Cheerful—By Request is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The editor paid for the lunch (as editors do). He lighted his seventh cigarette and leaned back. The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business. "Now don't misunderstand. Please!
Chapter 1 of Cheerful—By Request is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
United States lawyer famous for his defense of lost causes (1857-1938)
From this reading “The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.”
plural of “editor” — a person responsible for the editorial aspects of publication; the person who determines the final content of a text (especially of a newspaper or magazine)
From this reading “The editor paid for the lunch (as editors do).”
United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters
From this reading “The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.”
interpret in the wrong way
From this reading “"Now don't misunderstand.”
reduced in size as by squeezing together
From this reading “The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.”
Siberian peasant monk who was religious advisor in the court of Nicholas II; was assassinated by Russian noblemen who feared that his debauchery would weaken the monarchy (1872-1916)
From this reading “The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.”
coming next after the sixth and just before the eighth in position
From this reading “He lighted his seventh cigarette and leaned back.”
inflected form of “zigzag” — travel along a zigzag path
From this reading “The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.”
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 conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He lighted his seventh cigarette and leaned back.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The editor paid for the lunch (as editors do).
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He lighted his seventh cigarette and leaned back.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading He lighted his seventh cigarette and leaned back.
the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
United States lawyer famous for his defense of lost causes (1857-1938)
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading The editor paid for the lunch (as editors do).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Now don't misunderstand.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
a person responsible for the editorial aspects of publication; the person who determines the final content of a text (especially of a newspaper or magazine)
From this reading The editor paid for the lunch (as editors do).
plural of “editor” — a person responsible for the editorial aspects of publication; the person who determines the final content of a text (especially of a newspaper or magazine)
From this reading The editor paid for the lunch (as editors do).
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The editor paid for the lunch (as editors do).
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He lighted his seventh cigarette and leaned back.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He lighted his seventh cigarette and leaned back.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading He lighted his seventh cigarette and leaned back.
set afire or burning
From this reading He lighted his seventh cigarette and leaned back.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
take the midday meal
From this reading The editor paid for the lunch (as editors do).
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
interpret in the wrong way
From this reading "Now don't misunderstand.
a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
reduced in size as by squeezing together
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Now don't misunderstand.
the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
marked by the reception of pay
From this reading The editor paid for the lunch (as editors do).
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading Please!
Siberian peasant monk who was religious advisor in the court of Nicholas II; was assassinated by Russian noblemen who feared that his debauchery would weaken the monarchy (1872-1916)
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
coming next after the sixth and just before the eighth in position
From this reading He lighted his seventh cigarette and leaned back.
successive (without a break)
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The editor paid for the lunch (as editors do).
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
inflected form of “zigzag” — travel along a zigzag path
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The conversation, which had zigzagged from the war to Zuloaga, and from Rasputin the Monk to the number of miles a Darrow would go on a gallon, narrowed down to the thin, straight line of business.
Chapter 1 of Cheerful—By Request by Edna Ferber holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 416 sentences of Cheerful—By Request, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Cheerful—By Request by Edna Ferber exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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.
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Yes. All 7249 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11395 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11395, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1450 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cheerful—By Request section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Cheerful—By Request 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 Cheerful—By Request, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
