Chapter 1 of Plays : First Series is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Plays : First Series is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you? JONES. [In a thick, sardonic voice.] I'm a bloomin' Conservative. My name's Jones! My wife works 'ere; she's the char; she works 'ere.
Chapter 1 of Plays : First Series is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 11/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 51–55
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 charred substance
From this reading “My wife works 'ere; she's the char; she works 'ere.”
resistant to change, particularly in relation to politics or religion
From this reading “[In a thick, sardonic voice.] I'm a bloomin' Conservative.”
United States labor leader (born in Ireland) who helped to found the Industrial Workers of the World (1830-1930)
From this reading “JONES.”
showing or characterized by broad-mindedness
From this reading “My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?”
possessive form of “name” — a language unit by which a person or thing is known
From this reading “My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?”
disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking
From this reading “[In a thick, sardonic voice.] I'm a bloomin' Conservative.”
possessive form of “so” — the syllable naming the fifth (dominant) note of any musical scale in solmization
From this reading “My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?”
buildings for carrying on industrial labor
From this reading “My wife works 'ere; she's the char; she works 'ere.”
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 My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [In a thick, sardonic voice.] I'm a bloomin' Conservative.
a charred substance
From this reading My wife works 'ere; she's the char; she works 'ere.
resistant to change, particularly in relation to politics or religion
From this reading [In a thick, sardonic voice.] I'm a bloomin' Conservative.
an old word for “before”
From this reading My wife works 'ere; she's the char; she works 'ere.
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading [In a thick, sardonic voice.] I'm a bloomin' Conservative.
United States labor leader (born in Ireland) who helped to found the Industrial Workers of the World (1830-1930)
From this reading JONES.
showing or characterized by broad-mindedness
From this reading My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
possessive form of “name” — a language unit by which a person or thing is known
From this reading My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking
From this reading [In a thick, sardonic voice.] I'm a bloomin' Conservative.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading My wife works 'ere; she's the char; she works 'ere.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My wife works 'ere; she's the char; she works 'ere.
possessive form of “so” — the syllable naming the fifth (dominant) note of any musical scale in solmization
From this reading My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading My wife works 'ere; she's the char; she works 'ere.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading [In a thick, sardonic voice.] I'm a bloomin' Conservative.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading [In a thick, sardonic voice.] I'm a bloomin' Conservative.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading My wife works 'ere; she's the char; she works 'ere.
buildings for carrying on industrial labor
From this reading My wife works 'ere; she's the char; she works 'ere.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading My name's Barthwick, so's my father's; I'm a Liberal too--wha're you?
Chapter 1 of Plays : First Series by John Galsworthy holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 399 sentences of Plays : First Series, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Plays : First Series by John Galsworthy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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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Words and structures a reader meets early in Plays : First Series, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
