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Round the Corner
Round the Corner

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of Round the Corner is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Round the Corner
Context Illustration Reading 1/80 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
_On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.
_We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.
Ah!
The world was golden then!
How we scorned the world of men In the days so long gone by!
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Round the Corner

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of Round the Corner is here in full — 402 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
_On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.
Line 2
_We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.
/wiː wɜːr ˈhæpi juː ənd aɪ ɪn ðə deɪz soʊ lɔːŋ ɡɔːn baɪ wen juː ɡeɪv miː ʌv ðə stɔːr ʌv rɪtʃ ˈledʒənderi lɔːr pɑːrt ˈsɑːɡə ənd pɑːrt truːθ ʌv ðə deɪz ʌv jɔːr oʊn juːθ/
Line 3
Ah!
Line 4
The world was golden then!
/ðə wɜːrld wɑːz ˈɡoʊldən ðen/
Line 5
How we scorned the world of men In the days so long gone by!

Learner Dictionary

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.

des noun US /des/

a potent estrogen used in medicine and in feed for livestock and poultry

From this reading “_On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.”

legendary adjective US /ˈledʒənderi/

so celebrated as to having taken on the nature of a legend

From this reading “_We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.”

les noun US /les/

plural of “le” — a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints)

From this reading “_On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.”

lore noun US /lɔːr/

knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote

From this reading “_We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.”

non adverb US /nɑːn/

negation of a word or group of words

From this reading “_On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.”

plus noun US /plʌs/

a useful or valuable quality

From this reading “_On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.”

saga noun US /ˈsɑːɡə/

a narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family; originally (12th to 14th centuries) a story of the families that settled Iceland and their descendants but now any prose narrative that resembles such an account

From this reading “_We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.”

scorned adjective US /skɔːrnd/

treated with dislike or contempt

From this reading “How we scorned the world of men In the days so long gone by!”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

le plus noun + noun

In this reading “_On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.”

All words in this reading · 63

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.

actionsnounUS /ˈækʃənz/

plural of “action” — something done (usually as opposed to something said)

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

Ah

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ah!

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

d'un

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

dans

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

daysnounUS /deɪz/

the time during which someone's life continues

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

denounUS /diː/

a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

desnounUS /des/

a potent estrogen used in medicine and in feed for livestock and poultry

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

essayernoun

one who tries

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

fut

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

gaveverbUS /ɡeɪv/

inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

goldenadjectiveUS /ˈɡoʊldən/

having the deep slightly brownish color of gold

From this reading The world was golden then!

goneadjectiveUS /ɡɔːn/

destroyed or killed

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

happyadjectiveUS /ˈhæpi/

enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

homme

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

hommes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

How

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading How we scorned the world of men In the days so long gone by!

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

InprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

jamais

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

l'esprit

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

lanounUS /lɑː/

a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

lenounUS /lə/

a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints)

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

legendaryadjectiveUS /ˈledʒənderi/

so celebrated as to having taken on the nature of a legend

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

lesnounUS /les/

plural of “le” — a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints)

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

lorenounUS /lɔːr/

knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

LOUISnounUS /ˈluːɪs/

United States prizefighter who was world heavyweight champion for 12 years (1914-1981)

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

mais

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

mennounUS /men/

the force of workers available

From this reading How we scorned the world of men In the days so long gone by!

nonadverbUS /nɑːn/

negation of a word or group of words

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

OnprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

ownverbUS /oʊn/

have ownership or possession of

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

PartnounUS /pɑːrt/

something determined in relation to something that includes it

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

peindre

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

plusnounUS /plʌs/

a useful or valuable quality

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

postérité

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

qui

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

richadjectiveUS /rɪtʃ/

possessing material wealth

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

saganounUS /ˈsɑːɡə/

a narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family; originally (12th to 14th centuries) a story of the families that settled Iceland and their descendants but now any prose narrative that resembles such an account

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

scornedadjectiveUS /skɔːrnd/

treated with dislike or contempt

From this reading How we scorned the world of men In the days so long gone by!

seul

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

siècle

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

storenounUS /stɔːr/

a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

thenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading The world was golden then!

truthnounUS /truːθ/

a fact that has been verified

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

veut

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The world was golden then!

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

WhenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

worldnounUS /wɜːrld/

everything that exists anywhere

From this reading The world was golden then!

XIVnoun

the cardinal number that is the sum of thirteen and one

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

youthnounUS /juːθ/

a young person (especially a young man or boy)

From this reading _We were happy, you and I, In the days so long gone by, When you gave me of the store Of rich legendary lore, Part saga, and part truth, Of the days of your own youth.

à

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

éclairé

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _On veut essayer de peindre à la postérité, non les actions d'un seul homme, mais l'esprit des hommes dans le siècle le plus éclairé qui fut jamais._--SIÈCLE DE LOUIS XIV.

Chapter 1 of Round the Corner by Gilbert Cannan holds 402 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.

What does chapter 1 of Round the Corner contain?

Chapter 1 holds 402 sentences of Round the Corner, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of Round the Corner by Gilbert Cannan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 402 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of Round the Corner?

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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Round the Corner

Common questions about reading Round the Corner by Gilbert Cannan on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Round the Corner?

Yes. All 8782 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52729 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Round the Corner is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #52729, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Round the Corner take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1757 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Round the Corner section by section

How to work through Round the Corner section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 22 chapters of Round the Corner to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Round the Corner

Words and structures a reader meets early in Round the Corner, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Essayer
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Round the Corner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Peindre
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Round the Corner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Actions
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Round the Corner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Homme
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Round the Corner; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.