Chapter 1 of Life's Handicap is here in full — 374 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Life's Handicap is here in full — 374 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TO E.K.R. FROM R.K. 1887-89 C.M.G. In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat. No one remembered who or what Dhunni Bhagat had been. He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
Chapter 1 of Life's Handicap is here in full — 374 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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.
a native or inhabitant of Hindustan or India
From this reading “He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.”
a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947
From this reading “In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.”
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading “He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.”
the residence of a religious community
From this reading “In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.”
in or characteristic of a region of the United States north of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading “In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.”
righteousness by virtue of being pious
From this reading “He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.”
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading “No one remembered who or what Dhunni Bhagat had been.”
depleted of energy, force, or strength
From this reading “He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1887-89 C.M.G.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1887-89 C.M.G.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading No one remembered who or what Dhunni Bhagat had been.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading 1887-89 C.M.G.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading TO E.K.R. FROM R.K.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading TO E.K.R. FROM R.K.
a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram
From this reading 1887-89 C.M.G.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading No one remembered who or what Dhunni Bhagat had been.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
a native or inhabitant of Hindustan or India
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
the basic unit of thermodynamic temperature adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading TO E.K.R. FROM R.K.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading 1887-89 C.M.G.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
the residence of a religious community
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
not any; not one
From this reading No one remembered who or what Dhunni Bhagat had been.
in or characteristic of a region of the United States north of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one remembered who or what Dhunni Bhagat had been.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading No one remembered who or what Dhunni Bhagat had been.
righteousness by virtue of being pious
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading TO E.K.R. FROM R.K.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading No one remembered who or what Dhunni Bhagat had been.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
depleted of energy, force, or strength
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In Northern India stood a monastery called The Chubara of Dhunni Bhagat.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading TO E.K.R. FROM R.K.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading No one remembered who or what Dhunni Bhagat had been.
which person or people
From this reading No one remembered who or what Dhunni Bhagat had been.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading He had lived his life, made a little money and spent it all, as every good Hindu should do, on a work of piety--the Chubara.
Chapter 1 of Life's Handicap by Rudyard Kipling holds 374 sentences, grouped into 75 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 374 sentences of Life's Handicap, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Life's Handicap by Rudyard Kipling exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 374 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 Life's Handicap by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6414 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5777 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5777, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 534 minutes of reading across 1283 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Life's Handicap section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Life's Handicap 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 Life's Handicap, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
