Chapter 1 of Mr. Prohack is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Mr. Prohack is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day. "No, sir," said the hall-porter, who was a realist. "Ah, well," said Mr. Prohack soothingly. "Perhaps not a bad thing. There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
Chapter 1 of Mr. Prohack is here in full — 233 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading “"WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.”
take the midday meal
From this reading “"WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.”
English poet; remembered primarily as the author of an epic poem describing humanity's fall from grace (1608-1674)
From this reading “"WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.”
a philosopher who believes that universals are real and exist independently of anyone thinking of them
From this reading “"No, sir," said the hall-porter, who was a realist.”
tending to reconcile or accommodate; bringing into harmony
From this reading “There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"”
in a soothing manner
From this reading “"Ah, well," said Mr. Prohack soothingly.”
work hard
From this reading “There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"”
not giving satisfaction
From this reading “There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"”
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 "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah, well," said Mr. Prohack soothingly.
(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 There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading "Perhaps not a bad thing.
a person who is in charge
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
a team of professional baseball players who play and travel together
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
a movement into or inward
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
take the midday meal
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
English poet; remembered primarily as the author of an epic poem describing humanity's fall from grace (1608-1674)
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, sir," said the hall-porter, who was a realist.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Perhaps not a bad thing.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
by chance
From this reading "Perhaps not a bad thing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
a philosopher who believes that universals are real and exist independently of anyone thinking of them
From this reading "No, sir," said the hall-porter, who was a realist.
tending to reconcile or accommodate; bringing into harmony
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
term of address for a man
From this reading "No, sir," said the hall-porter, who was a realist.
in a soothing manner
From this reading "Ah, well," said Mr. Prohack soothingly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
a special situation
From this reading "Perhaps not a bad thing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
work hard
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
not giving satisfaction
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There's nothing like an unsatisfactory holiday for reconciling us all to a life of toil, is there?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "No, sir," said the hall-porter, who was a realist.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "WELL, Milton, had a good holiday?" said Mr. Prohack to the hall-porter on entering his chief club for lunch that day.
which person or people
From this reading "No, sir," said the hall-porter, who was a realist.
Chapter 1 of Mr. Prohack by Arnold Bennett holds 233 sentences, grouped into 47 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 233 sentences of Mr. Prohack, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Mr. Prohack by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 233 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 Mr. Prohack by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8910 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12773 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12773, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1782 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mr. Prohack section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Mr. Prohack 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 Mr. Prohack, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
