Chapter 1 of Hard Times is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Hard Times is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
Chapter 1 of Hard Times is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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 “animal” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading “You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.”
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading “THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.”
plural of “mind” — that which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
From this reading “You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.”
necessary for relief or supply
From this reading “THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.”
put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground
From this reading “Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.”
thinking that is coherent and logical
From this reading “You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.”
(botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground
From this reading “Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.”
impart skills or knowledge to
From this reading “Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.”
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.
Having no one else present.
From this reading Facts alone are wanted in life.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.
plural of “animal” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Facts alone are wanted in life.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.
at any time
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Facts alone are wanted in life.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Facts alone are wanted in life.
plural of “mind” — that which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
necessary for relief or supply
From this reading THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.
and nothing more
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.
put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground
From this reading Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.
thinking that is coherent and logical
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
(botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground
From this reading Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
impart skills or knowledge to
From this reading Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.
a special situation
From this reading THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading Facts alone are wanted in life.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading THE ONE THING NEEDFUL ‘NOW, what I want is, Facts.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.
Chapter 1 of Hard Times by Charles Dickens holds 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 153 sentences of Hard Times, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Hard Times by Charles Dickens exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 Hard Times by Charles Dickens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5737 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #786 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #786, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 478 minutes of reading across 1148 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Hard Times section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Hard Times 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 Hard Times, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
