Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Battle of Life: A Love Story is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE BATTLE OF LIFE. A LOVE STORY. THE BATTLE OF LIFE. A Love Story. BY CHARLES DICKENS.
The Battle of Life: A Love Story
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Battle of Life: A Love Story is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
English subtitles · tap any word to listen
1 / 5
THE
BATTLE
OF
LIFE.
A
LOVE
STORY.
THE
BATTLE
OF
LIFE.
A
Love
Story.
BY
CHARLES
DICKENS.
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
The Battle of Life: A Love Story
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Battle of Life: A Love Story is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
Line 1
THE
BATTLE
OF
LIFE.
/ðə ˈbætəl ʌv laɪf/
Line 2
A
LOVE
STORY.
/ə lʌv ˈstɔːri/
Line 3
THE
BATTLE
OF
LIFE.
/ðə ˈbætəl ʌv laɪf/
Line 4
A
Love
Story.
/ə lʌv ˈstɔːri/
Line 5
BY
CHARLES
DICKENS.
/baɪ tʃɑːrlz ˈdɪkənz/
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.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading “THE BATTLE OF LIFE.”
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading “BY CHARLES DICKENS.”
dickens
noun
US /ˈdɪkənz/
a word used in exclamations of confusion
From this reading “BY CHARLES DICKENS.”
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “THE BATTLE OF LIFE.”
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading “A LOVE STORY.”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “A LOVE STORY.”
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.
LOVE STORY
noun + noun
a story dealing with love
In this reading “A LOVE STORY.”
All words in this reading · 10
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 A LOVE STORY.
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading THE BATTLE OF LIFE.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY CHARLES DICKENS.
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading BY CHARLES DICKENS.
DICKENSnounUS /ˈdɪkənz/
a word used in exclamations of confusion
From this reading BY CHARLES DICKENS.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading THE BATTLE OF LIFE.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading A LOVE STORY.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE BATTLE OF LIFE.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading A LOVE STORY.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE BATTLE OF LIFE.
Chapter 1 of The Battle of Life: A Love Story by Charles Dickens holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 The Battle of Life: A Love Story contain?
Chapter 1 holds 429 sentences of The Battle of Life: A Love Story, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Battle of Life: A Love Story by Charles Dickens exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 The Battle of Life: A Love Story?
Work through the 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 The Battle of Life: A Love Story
Common questions about reading The Battle of Life: A Love Story by Charles Dickens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of The Battle of Life: A Love Story?
Yes. All 1748 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40723 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of The Battle of Life: A Love Story is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #40723, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does The Battle of Life: A Love Story take to read?
About 145 minutes of reading across 350 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read The Battle of Life: A Love Story section by section
How to work through The Battle of Life: A Love Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Battle of Life: A Love Story to begin.
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Read one section
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
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Listen and tap
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Vocabulary met early in The Battle of Life: A Love Story
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Battle of Life: A Love Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Battle
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Battle of Life: A Love Story; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Story
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Battle of Life: A Love Story; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Charles
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Battle of Life: A Love Story; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Dickens
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Battle of Life: A Love Story; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.