Chapter 1 of That Girl in Black is here in full — 495 sentences across 99 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of That Girl in Black is here in full — 495 sentences across 99 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
That Girl in Black, by Mrs Molesworth. ________________________________________________________________________ THAT GIRL IN BLACK, BY MRS MOLESWORTH. CHAPTER ONE. He was spoilt--deplorably, absurdly spoilt. But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
Chapter 1 of That Girl in Black is here in full — 495 sentences across 99 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/99 · 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 an absurd manner or to an absurd degree
From this reading “He was spoilt--deplorably, absurdly spoilt.”
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading “That Girl in Black, by Mrs Molesworth.”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER ONE.”
to certain extent or degree
From this reading “But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.”
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading “But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.”
a young female
From this reading “That Girl in Black, by Mrs Molesworth.”
by chance
From this reading “But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.”
the least favorable outcome
From this reading “But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.”
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.
in an absurd manner or to an absurd degree
From this reading He was spoilt--deplorably, absurdly spoilt.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading That Girl in Black, by Mrs Molesworth.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading That Girl in Black, by Mrs Molesworth.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
in an unfortunate or deplorable manner
From this reading He was spoilt--deplorably, absurdly spoilt.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
a young female
From this reading That Girl in Black, by Mrs Molesworth.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was spoilt--deplorably, absurdly spoilt.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading That Girl in Black, by Mrs Molesworth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That Girl in Black, by Mrs Molesworth.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading That Girl in Black, by Mrs Molesworth.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading CHAPTER ONE.
by chance
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention
From this reading He was spoilt--deplorably, absurdly spoilt.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That Girl in Black, by Mrs Molesworth.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was spoilt--deplorably, absurdly spoilt.
the least favorable outcome
From this reading But, so far, that was perhaps the worst that could fairly be said against him.
Chapter 1 of That Girl in Black by Mrs. Molesworth holds 495 sentences, grouped into 99 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 495 sentences of That Girl in Black, unabridged, divided into 99 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of That Girl in Black by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 495 sentences, grouped into 99 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 99 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 99 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 That Girl in Black by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1498 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43134 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43134, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 124 minutes of reading across 300 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through That Girl in Black section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of That Girl in Black 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 That Girl in Black, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
