Chapter 1 of Mr. World and Miss Church-Member is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Mr. World and Miss Church-Member is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
1. The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day. 2. The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway. Blackana is introduced.
Chapter 1 of Mr. World and Miss Church-Member is here in full — 124 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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 short moral story (often with animal characters)
From this reading “The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.”
past form of “compare” — examine and note the similarities or differences of
From this reading “The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.”
a major road for any form of motor transport
From this reading “The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.”
past form of “introduce” — cause to come to know personally
From this reading “Blackana is introduced.”
plural of “open” — a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
From this reading “The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.”
as from an altitude or distance
From this reading “The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.”
position 20 in a countable series of things
From this reading “The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.”
a gradual decrease in magnitude or extent
From this reading “The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.”
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 1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 2.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.
a short moral story (often with animal characters)
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Blackana is introduced.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
a period of 100 years
From this reading The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.
past form of “compare” — examine and note the similarities or differences of
From this reading The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
in or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be
From this reading The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.
a major road for any form of motor transport
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
past form of “introduce” — cause to come to know personally
From this reading Blackana is introduced.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Blackana is introduced.
possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
plural of “open” — a clear or unobstructed space or expanse of land or water
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
as from an altitude or distance
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.
position 20 in a countable series of things
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
a gradual decrease in magnitude or extent
From this reading The dying of a century compared to the waning of a day.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The allegory opens with a panoramic view of human life, as seen through the open door of the twentieth century, on the Broad Highway and King’s Highway.
Chapter 1 of Mr. World and Miss Church-Member by W. S. (William Shuler) Harris holds 124 sentences, grouped into 25 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 124 sentences of Mr. World and Miss Church-Member, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Mr. World and Miss Church-Member by W. S. (William Shuler) Harris exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 124 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #6494, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 257 minutes of reading across 618 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mr. World and Miss Church-Member section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Mr. World and Miss Church-Member, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
