Chapter 1 of Maid—To Order is here in full — 581 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Maid—To Order is here in full — 581 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MAID--TO ORDER! Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman! Herb Cornith shook his dark head in disappointment. "Nope," he said, "she won't do. Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."
Chapter 1 of Maid—To Order is here in full — 581 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/116 · 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 feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized
From this reading “Herb Cornith shook his dark head in disappointment.”
a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
From this reading “Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!”
plural of “lack” — the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable
From this reading “Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."”
a female domestic
From this reading “MAID--TO ORDER!”
a unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a troy pound
From this reading “Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."”
plural of “specification” — a detailed description of design criteria for a piece of work
From this reading “Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!”
rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard
From this reading “Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!”
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading “Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."”
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.
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 Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Herb Cornith shook his dark head in disappointment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized
From this reading Herb Cornith shook his dark head in disappointment.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Nope," he said, "she won't do.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
a young female
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Nope," he said, "she won't do.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Herb Cornith shook his dark head in disappointment.
a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Herb Cornith shook his dark head in disappointment.
plural of “lack” — the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable
From this reading Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."
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 Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
a female domestic
From this reading MAID--TO ORDER!
joined in matrimony
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nope," he said, "she won't do.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading MAID--TO ORDER!
a unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a troy pound
From this reading Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
precisely, exactly
From this reading Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Nope," he said, "she won't do.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Nope," he said, "she won't do.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Herb Cornith shook his dark head in disappointment.
and nothing more
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
plural of “specification” — a detailed description of design criteria for a piece of work
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading MAID--TO ORDER!
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading Lacks an ounce of being the right weight."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Herb Cornith didn't really mind getting married as long as the girl answered his strict specifications which were simply--a superwoman!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Nope," he said, "she won't do.
Chapter 1 of Maid—To Order by Hal Annas holds 581 sentences, grouped into 117 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 581 sentences of Maid—To Order, unabridged, divided into 117 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Maid—To Order by Hal Annas exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 581 sentences, grouped into 117 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 117 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 117 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 Maid—To Order by Hal Annas on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Maid—To Order section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Maid—To Order 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 Maid—To Order, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
