Chapter 1 of The Coast of Chance is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Coast of Chance is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room. She had turned her back on it. She swayed forward. Her bare arms were lifted. Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.
Chapter 1 of The Coast of Chance is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
completely unclothed
From this reading “Her bare arms were lifted.”
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading “Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.”
all the plant life in a particular region or period
From this reading “Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.”
held up in the air
From this reading “Her bare arms were lifted.”
without good reason
From this reading “Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.”
the act of creating something by casting it in a mold
From this reading “Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.”
past form of “sway” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading “She swayed forward.”
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading “Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.”
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.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading Her bare arms were lifted.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading She had turned her back on it.
completely unclothed
From this reading Her bare arms were lifted.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.
a room used for dining
From this reading Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.
one or the other of two
From this reading Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.
all the plant life in a particular region or period
From this reading Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading She swayed forward.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had turned her back on it.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She had turned her back on it.
held up in the air
From this reading Her bare arms were lifted.
without good reason
From this reading Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.
the act of creating something by casting it in a mold
From this reading Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had turned her back on it.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Her hands lightly caught the molding on either side of the door.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.
past form of “sway” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading She swayed forward.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading Flora Gilsey stood on the threshold of her dining-room.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She had turned her back on it.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Her bare arms were lifted.
Chapter 1 of The Coast of Chance by Esther, -1908 Chamberlain holds 428 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.
Chapter 1 holds 428 sentences of The Coast of Chance, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Coast of Chance by Esther, -1908 Chamberlain exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 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.
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.
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 Coast of Chance by Esther, -1908 Chamberlain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5474 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20445 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20445, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 456 minutes of reading across 1095 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Coast of Chance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Coast of Chance 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 Coast of Chance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
