Chapter 1 of Jill the Reckless is here in full — 849 sentences across 170 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Jill the Reckless is here in full — 849 sentences across 170 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table. Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him. "Barker!" His voice had a ring of pain. "Sir?"
Chapter 1 of Jill the Reckless is here in full — 849 sentences across 170 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/169 · 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.
someone who stands in front of a show (as at a carnival) and gives a loud colorful sales talk to potential customers
From this reading “Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.”
lacking warmth of feeling; in a cold, unemotional manner
From this reading “Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table.”
steadfast in affection or allegiance
From this reading “Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.”
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table.”
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading “Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.”
past form of “inspect” — look over carefully
From this reading “Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.”
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading “Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.”
highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
From this reading “Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.”
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 Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table.
someone who stands in front of a show (as at a carnival) and gives a loud colorful sales talk to potential customers
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table.
lacking warmth of feeling; in a cold, unemotional manner
From this reading Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
steadfast in affection or allegiance
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table.
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table.
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
past form of “inspect” — look over carefully
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His voice had a ring of pain.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
From this reading His voice had a ring of pain.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading His voice had a ring of pain.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Sir?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading His voice had a ring of pain.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him.
Chapter 1 of Jill the Reckless by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse holds 849 sentences, grouped into 170 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 849 sentences of Jill the Reckless, unabridged, divided into 170 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Jill the Reckless by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 849 sentences, grouped into 170 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 170 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 170 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 Jill the Reckless by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9589 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20533 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20533, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1918 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Jill the Reckless section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Jill the Reckless 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 Jill the Reckless, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
