Chapter 1 of In Luck at Last is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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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.
"Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem. How should you! But we lawyers don't work for nothing. However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get. Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
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 69/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 341–345
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.
the activity of selecting the scenes to be shown and putting them together to create a film
From this reading “Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
special design or visual object representing a quality, type, group, etc.
From this reading “"Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.”
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading “However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get.”
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading “"Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.”
plural of “lawyer” — a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading “But we lawyers don't work for nothing.”
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading “Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading “Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading “"Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.”
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.
as might be expected
In this reading “"Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.”
In this reading “But we lawyers don't work for nothing.”
In this reading “Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
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.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But we lawyers don't work for nothing.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading "Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.
the activity of selecting the scenes to be shown and putting them together to create a film
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.
special design or visual object representing a quality, type, group, etc.
From this reading "Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But we lawyers don't work for nothing.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How should you!
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
the collection of rules imposed by authority
From this reading "Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.
plural of “lawyer” — a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading But we lawyers don't work for nothing.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading But we lawyers don't work for nothing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading How should you!
term of address for a man
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading "Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading But we lawyers don't work for nothing.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading However it isn't what you got, but what I am to get.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading But we lawyers don't work for nothing.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Of course you don't understand law, Mr. Emblem.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Come, my good sir, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
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.
