Chapter 1 of No Charge for Alterations is here in full — 749 sentences across 150 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of No Charge for Alterations is here in full — 749 sentences across 150 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
[Sidenote: _"Wanta know what's wrong with women these days? Spoiled! The whole kit and kaboodle of 'em. They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes. Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.
Chapter 1 of No Charge for Alterations is here in full — 749 sentences across 150 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/149 · 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.
plural of “gadget” — a device or control that is very useful for a particular job
From this reading “Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.”
fasten with a hook
From this reading “They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.”
the work of cleaning and running a house
From this reading “Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.”
a case for containing a set of articles
From this reading “The whole kit and kaboodle of 'em.”
plural of “maid” — a female domestic
From this reading “Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.”
a person whose material wealth is valued at more than a million dollars
From this reading “They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.”
plural of “nightclub” — a spot that is open late at night and that provides entertainment (as singers or dancers) as well as dancing and food and drink
From this reading “They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.”
having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention
From this reading “Spoiled!”
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.
be careful, prudent, or watchful
In this reading “Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.”
In this reading “They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The whole kit and kaboodle of 'em.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.
clothing in general
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading [Sidenote: _"Wanta know what's wrong with women these days?
a quad with a square body
From this reading The whole kit and kaboodle of 'em.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.
plural of “gadget” — a device or control that is very useful for a particular job
From this reading Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.
fasten with a hook
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
the work of cleaning and running a house
From this reading Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The whole kit and kaboodle of 'em.
a case for containing a set of articles
From this reading The whole kit and kaboodle of 'em.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading [Sidenote: _"Wanta know what's wrong with women these days?
plural of “maid” — a female domestic
From this reading Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.
a person whose material wealth is valued at more than a million dollars
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
plural of “nightclub” — a spot that is open late at night and that provides entertainment (as singers or dancers) as well as dancing and food and drink
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The whole kit and kaboodle of 'em.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Sidenote: _"Wanta know what's wrong with women these days?
deliver by singing
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.
having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention
From this reading Spoiled!
carry out
From this reading Housework is something for gadgets to take care of, with maids to run the gadgets.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The whole kit and kaboodle of 'em.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading [Sidenote: _"Wanta know what's wrong with women these days?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Sidenote: _"Wanta know what's wrong with women these days?
be dressed in
From this reading They want to sing in nightclubs and hook up with some millionaire and wear beautiful clothes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Sidenote: _"Wanta know what's wrong with women these days?
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading The whole kit and kaboodle of 'em.
in the company of; together with
From this reading [Sidenote: _"Wanta know what's wrong with women these days?
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading [Sidenote: _"Wanta know what's wrong with women these days?
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading [Sidenote: _"Wanta know what's wrong with women these days?
Chapter 1 of No Charge for Alterations by H. L. (Horace Leonard) Gold holds 749 sentences, grouped into 150 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 749 sentences of No Charge for Alterations, unabridged, divided into 150 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of No Charge for Alterations by H. L. (Horace Leonard) Gold exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 749 sentences, grouped into 150 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 150 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 150 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 No Charge for Alterations by H. L. (Horace Leonard) Gold on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 749 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31986 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31986, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 62 minutes of reading across 150 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through No Charge for Alterations section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of No Charge for Alterations 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 No Charge for Alterations, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
