Chapter 1 of Odette's Marriage is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Odette's Marriage is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps. "Good morning, Odette!" Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade. "Come up here before you go into the house. I wish to have a little talk with you."
Chapter 1 of Odette's Marriage is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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 line of approach
From this reading “She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.”
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading “She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.”
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading “Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade.”
control and direct with or as if by reins
From this reading “She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.”
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading “She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.”
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading “She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.”
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading “She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.”
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.
In this reading “Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade.”
In this reading “She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.”
In this reading “She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.”
to come or go into
In this reading “"Come up here before you go into the house.”
In this reading “"Come up here before you go into the house.”
bring forth, usually something desirable
In this reading “"Come up here before you go into the house.”
a house (usually large and impressive) on an estate in the country
In this reading “She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.”
In this reading “I wish to have a little talk with you."”
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 I wish to have a little talk with you."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
a line of approach
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
a railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling
From this reading Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come up here before you go into the house.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Come up here before you go into the house.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Good morning, Odette!"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I wish to have a little talk with you."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Come up here before you go into the house.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wish to have a little talk with you."
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "Come up here before you go into the house.
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I wish to have a little talk with you."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading "Good morning, Odette!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Good morning, Odette!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
above and across; more than
From this reading Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade.
control and direct with or as if by reins
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading I wish to have a little talk with you."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mme. Descoutures called to her, leaning over the balustrade.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She rode slowly up the sandy avenue of the country house, and drew rein before the broad steps.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading I wish to have a little talk with you."
in the company of; together with
From this reading I wish to have a little talk with you."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Come up here before you go into the house.
Chapter 1 of Odette's Marriage by Albert Delpit holds 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 127 sentences of Odette's Marriage, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Odette's Marriage by Albert Delpit exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Odette's Marriage by Albert Delpit on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2811 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47697 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47697, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 234 minutes of reading across 563 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Odette's Marriage section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Odette's Marriage 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 Odette's Marriage, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
