Chapter 1 of Miss Devereux, spinster is here in full — 259 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Miss Devereux, spinster is here in full — 259 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A MIDDLE-AGED YOUNG LADY. "Sensibility, how charming!" BURNS. "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead. It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
Chapter 1 of Miss Devereux, spinster is here in full — 259 sentences across 52 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 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.
United States comedian and film actor (1896-1996)
From this reading “BURNS.”
pleasing or delighting
From this reading “"Sensibility, how charming!"”
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading “"IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.”
being roughly between 45 and 65 years old
From this reading “A MIDDLE-AGED YOUNG LADY.”
to gather something into small wrinkles or folds
From this reading “"IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.”
mental responsiveness and awareness
From this reading “"Sensibility, how charming!"”
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “"IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.”
-ing form of “wrinkle” — gather or contract into wrinkles or folds; pucker
From this reading “"IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.”
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.
a young female
In this reading “A MIDDLE-AGED YOUNG LADY.”
In this reading “It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.”
In this reading “It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.”
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 A MIDDLE-AGED YOUNG LADY.
Having no one else present.
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
eagerly desirous
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
United States comedian and film actor (1896-1996)
From this reading BURNS.
pleasing or delighting
From this reading "Sensibility, how charming!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
at any time
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Sensibility, how charming!"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading A MIDDLE-AGED YOUNG LADY.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
being roughly between 45 and 65 years old
From this reading A MIDDLE-AGED YOUNG LADY.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
and nothing more
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
to gather something into small wrinkles or folds
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
mental responsiveness and awareness
From this reading "Sensibility, how charming!"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
be standing; be upright
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
express in words
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the first time in Sybella Devereux' life that she had ever had to stand alone.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
-ing form of “wrinkle” — gather or contract into wrinkles or folds; pucker
From this reading "IF only I had some one to tell me what to do!" sighed Miss Devereux, an anxious pucker wrinkling her forehead.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading A MIDDLE-AGED YOUNG LADY.
Chapter 1 of Miss Devereux, spinster by Agnes Giberne holds 259 sentences, grouped into 52 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 259 sentences of Miss Devereux, spinster, unabridged, divided into 52 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Miss Devereux, spinster by Agnes Giberne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 259 sentences, grouped into 52 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 52 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 52 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 Miss Devereux, spinster by Agnes Giberne 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 Miss Devereux, spinster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Miss Devereux, spinster 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 Miss Devereux, spinster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
