Chapter 1 of The Crown of Life is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Crown of Life is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly. "Hullo, Arnold! I am so glad you lunch here to-day. Here is the son of my old friend Jerome Otway." Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
Chapter 1 of The Crown of Life is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 12/37 · 5 reading units · Lines 56–60
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.
English poet and literary critic (1822-1888)
From this reading “"Hullo, Arnold!”
exhibiting courtesy and politeness
From this reading “Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.”
past form of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading “As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.”
a game in which jackstones are thrown and picked up in various groups between bounces of a small rubber ball
From this reading “As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.”
(Roman Catholic Church) one of the great Fathers of the early Christian Church whose major work was his translation of the Scriptures from Hebrew and Greek into Latin (which became the Vulgate); a saint and Doctor of the Church (347-420)
From this reading “Here is the son of my old friend Jerome Otway."”
to a remarkable degree or extent
From this reading “Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.”
possessive form of “visitor” — someone who visits
From this reading “Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.”
in a hearty manner
From this reading “As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.”
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 As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am so glad you lunch here to-day.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
English poet and literary critic (1822-1888)
From this reading "Hullo, Arnold!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
exhibiting courtesy and politeness
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
a room used for dining
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Here is the son of my old friend Jerome Otway."
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading I am so glad you lunch here to-day.
past form of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading I am so glad you lunch here to-day.
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hullo, Arnold!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I am so glad you lunch here to-day.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Here is the son of my old friend Jerome Otway."
a game in which jackstones are thrown and picked up in various groups between bounces of a small rubber ball
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
(Roman Catholic Church) one of the great Fathers of the early Christian Church whose major work was his translation of the Scriptures from Hebrew and Greek into Latin (which became the Vulgate); a saint and Doctor of the Church (347-420)
From this reading Here is the son of my old friend Jerome Otway."
take the midday meal
From this reading I am so glad you lunch here to-day.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
a form of address for a man
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Here is the son of my old friend Jerome Otway."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Here is the son of my old friend Jerome Otway."
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Here is the son of my old friend Jerome Otway."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Here is the son of my old friend Jerome Otway."
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
compacted by ironing
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
to a remarkable degree or extent
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading I am so glad you lunch here to-day.
a male human offspring
From this reading Here is the son of my old friend Jerome Otway."
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
in or at that place or location
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I am so glad you lunch here to-day.
possessive form of “visitor” — someone who visits
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
in a hearty manner
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Arnold Jacks pressed the visitor's hand and spoke a few courteous words in a remarkably pleasant voice.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I am so glad you lunch here to-day.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading As they entered the dining-room, there appeared a young man whom Mr. Jacks greeted warmly.
Chapter 1 of The Crown of Life by George Gissing holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 185 sentences of The Crown of Life, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Crown of Life by George Gissing exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 Crown of Life by George Gissing on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7937 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4541 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4541, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1588 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crown of Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Crown of Life 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 Crown of Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
