Chapter 1 of Penelope: A Comedy in Three Acts is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Penelope: A Comedy in Three Acts is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Then you’ll get him back. PENELOPE. Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it. GOLIGHTLY. Give him his head.
Chapter 1 of Penelope: A Comedy in Three Acts is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading “Then you’ll get him back.”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Then you’ll get him back.”
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “Give him his head.”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “Give him his head.”
(Greek mythology) the wife of Odysseus and a symbol of devotion and fidelity; for 10 years while Odysseus fought the Trojan War she resisted numerous suitors until Odysseus returned and killed them
From this reading “PENELOPE.”
express in words
From this reading “Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.”
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.
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 Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Then you’ll get him back.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Then you’ll get him back.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Give him his head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GOLIGHTLY.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Give him his head.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then you’ll get him back.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Give him his head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.
(Greek mythology) the wife of Odysseus and a symbol of devotion and fidelity; for 10 years while Odysseus fought the Trojan War she resisted numerous suitors until Odysseus returned and killed them
From this reading PENELOPE.
express in words
From this reading Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then you’ll get him back.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then you’ll get him back.
Chapter 1 of Penelope: A Comedy in Three Acts by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of Penelope: A Comedy in Three Acts, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Penelope: A Comedy in Three Acts by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Penelope: A Comedy in Three Acts by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3202 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50180 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50180, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 266 minutes of reading across 641 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Penelope: A Comedy in Three Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Penelope: A Comedy in Three Acts 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 Penelope: A Comedy in Three Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
