Chapter 1 of In Luck at Last is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of In Luck at Last is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Call that carrying on business? He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances. Ah, but he'll retire soon." His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation. "He must retire before long."
Chapter 1 of In Luck at Last is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 43/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 211–215
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.
an expectation
From this reading “His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.”
past form of “brighten” — make more cheerful through the use of color
From this reading “His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.”
plural of “chance” — a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading “He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.”
throw carelessly
From this reading “He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.”
characterized by intense emotion
From this reading “His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.”
past form of “glow” — emit a steady even light without flames
From this reading “His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.”
plural of “investment” — the act of investing; laying out money or capital in an enterprise with the expectation of profit
From this reading “He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.”
go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position
From this reading “Ah, but he'll retire soon."”
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 “His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.”
In this reading “His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.”
direct the course of; manage or control
In this reading “Call that carrying on 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.
make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
be able to spare or give up
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah, but he'll retire soon."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
an expectation
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "He must retire before long."
past form of “brighten” — make more cheerful through the use of color
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading Call that carrying on business?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Ah, but he'll retire soon."
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Call that carrying on business?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading Call that carrying on business?
plural of “chance” — a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
throw carelessly
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
characterized by intense emotion
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
past form of “glow” — emit a steady even light without flames
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah, but he'll retire soon."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
plural of “investment” — the act of investing; laying out money or capital in an enterprise with the expectation of profit
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "He must retire before long."
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "He must retire before long."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Call that carrying on business?
go into retirement; stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position
From this reading Ah, but he'll retire soon."
in the near future
From this reading Ah, but he'll retire soon."
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Call that carrying on business?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading He may well add up his investments every day, it he can afford to chuck such chances.
in the company of; together with
From this reading His fiery eyes brightened, and his face glowed with the joy of anticipation.
Chapter 1 of In Luck at Last by Walter Besant holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 399 sentences of In Luck at Last, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of In Luck at Last by Walter Besant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 In Luck at Last by Walter Besant on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4190 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16129 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16129, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 349 minutes of reading across 838 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through In Luck at Last section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of In Luck at Last 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 In Luck at Last, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
