Chapter 1 of Dangerous Days is here in full — 365 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Dangerous Days is here in full — 365 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Natalie Spencer was giving a dinner. She was not an easy hostess. Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her. Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted. Yet the dinner was an unimportant one.
Chapter 1 of Dangerous Days is here in full — 365 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/73 · 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.
having the attention diverted especially because of anxiety
From this reading “Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.”
producing no result or effect
From this reading “Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.”
a woman host
From this reading “She was not an easy hostess.”
past form of “lack” — be without
From this reading “Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.”
lacking any definite plan or order or purpose; governed by or depending on chance
From this reading “Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.”
English philosopher and sociologist who applied the theory of natural selection to human societies (1820-1903)
From this reading “Natalie Spencer was giving a dinner.”
(informal) small and of little importance
From this reading “Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.”
not important
From this reading “Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.”
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 Natalie Spencer was giving a dinner.
giving or marked by complete attention to
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading She was not an easy hostess.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
true confidential information
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading Natalie Spencer was giving a dinner.
having the attention diverted especially because of anxiety
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading She was not an easy hostess.
producing no result or effect
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
the act of giving
From this reading Natalie Spencer was giving a dinner.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
a woman host
From this reading She was not an easy hostess.
past form of “lack” — be without
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Natalie Spencer was giving a dinner.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She was not an easy hostess.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Yet the dinner was an unimportant one.
the quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the whole
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
lacking any definite plan or order or purpose; governed by or depending on chance
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was not an easy hostess.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
English philosopher and sociologist who applied the theory of natural selection to human societies (1820-1903)
From this reading Natalie Spencer was giving a dinner.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
(informal) small and of little importance
From this reading Such conversation as she threw at random, to right and left, was trivial and distracted.
not important
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Natalie Spencer was giving a dinner.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Like most women of futile lives she lacked a sense of proportion, and the small and unimportant details of the service absorbed her.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet the dinner was an unimportant one.
Chapter 1 of Dangerous Days by Mary Roberts Rinehart holds 365 sentences, grouped into 73 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 365 sentences of Dangerous Days, unabridged, divided into 73 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Dangerous Days by Mary Roberts Rinehart exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 365 sentences, grouped into 73 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 73 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 73 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 Dangerous Days by Mary Roberts Rinehart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10571 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1693 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1693, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2115 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dangerous Days section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of Dangerous Days 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 Dangerous Days, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
