Chapter 1 of The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces 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 The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
[They rush in. Perkins with shawl-strap about his waist--limping. Barlow has large air-pump in his hand. Mrs. Perkins grows faint. Perkins.
Chapter 1 of The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces 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.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading “Mrs. Perkins grows faint.”
third-person singular of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading “Mrs. Perkins grows faint.”
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading “Barlow has large air-pump in his hand.”
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Barlow has large air-pump in his hand.”
disability of walking due to crippling of the legs or feet
From this reading “Perkins with shawl-strap about his waist--limping.”
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “Mrs. Perkins grows faint.”
move hurridly
From this reading “[They rush in.”
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading “Perkins with shawl-strap about his waist--limping.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Perkins with shawl-strap about his waist--limping.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Barlow has large air-pump in his hand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Barlow has large air-pump in his hand.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading Mrs. Perkins grows faint.
third-person singular of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading Mrs. Perkins grows faint.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Barlow has large air-pump in his hand.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Barlow has large air-pump in his hand.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Perkins with shawl-strap about his waist--limping.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading [They rush in.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Barlow has large air-pump in his hand.
disability of walking due to crippling of the legs or feet
From this reading Perkins with shawl-strap about his waist--limping.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Perkins grows faint.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Perkins with shawl-strap about his waist--limping.
move hurridly
From this reading [They rush in.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Perkins with shawl-strap about his waist--limping.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading [They rush in.
the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips
From this reading Perkins with shawl-strap about his waist--limping.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Perkins with shawl-strap about his waist--limping.
Chapter 1 of The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces by John Kendrick Bangs holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces by John Kendrick Bangs exactly as it stands in the public-domain 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 The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces by John Kendrick Bangs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2946 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11759 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11759, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 245 minutes of reading across 590 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces 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 The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
