Chapter 1 of The Big Drum: A Comedy in Four Acts is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Big Drum: A Comedy in Four Acts is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Paper cover, 1s. 6d.; cloth, 2s. 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s. 6d. [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
Chapter 1 of The Big Drum: A Comedy in Four Acts is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
disposed or placed in a particular kind of order
From this reading “6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.”
artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
From this reading “6d.; cloth, 2s.”
provide with a covering or cause to be covered
From this reading “Paper cover, 1s.”
more than is needed, desired, or required
From this reading “6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.”
Irish mathematician (1806-1865)
From this reading “6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.”
a room where books are kept
From this reading “[1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.”
a word picture of a person's appearance and character
From this reading “6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.”
chosen in preference to another
From this reading “6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Paper cover, 1s.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 6d.; cloth, 2s.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 6d.; cloth, 2s.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
disposed or placed in a particular kind of order
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
From this reading 6d.; cloth, 2s.
provide with a covering or cause to be covered
From this reading Paper cover, 1s.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading 6d.; cloth, 2s.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
more than is needed, desired, or required
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
Irish mathematician (1806-1865)
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
a room where books are kept
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading Paper cover, 1s.
participate in games or sport
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
a word picture of a person's appearance and character
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Paper cover, 1s.
chosen in preference to another
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [1] This Play can be had in library form, 4to, cloth, with a portrait, 5s.
in the company of; together with
From this reading 6d. each SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY MYRA HAMILTON With a Portrait, cloth extra, price 2s.
Chapter 1 of The Big Drum: A Comedy in Four Acts by Arthur Wing Pinero holds 442 sentences, grouped into 89 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 442 sentences of The Big Drum: A Comedy in Four Acts, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Big Drum: A Comedy in Four Acts by Arthur Wing Pinero exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 442 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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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How to work through The Big Drum: A Comedy in Four Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Big Drum: A Comedy in Four Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
