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.
"Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table. "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold. "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries? Hannaford is a patriot. He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.
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 26/37 · 5 reading units · Lines 126–130
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 “"As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.”
plural of “country” — a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading “"What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?”
be different
From this reading “"As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.”
unaffected by self-interest
From this reading “He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.”
obtain
From this reading “He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.”
one who loves and defends his or her country
From this reading “Hannaford is a patriot.”
glaringly vivid and graphic; marked by sensationalism
From this reading “"Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.”
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading “"Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.”
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 Hannaford is a patriot.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
English poet and literary critic (1822-1888)
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
call upon in supplication; entreat
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
plural of “country” — a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
be different
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
unaffected by self-interest
From this reading He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading "Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.
obtain
From this reading He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hannaford is a patriot.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading "Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Hannaford is a patriot.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
a polite name for any woman
From this reading "Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.
go away from a place
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
one who loves and defends his or her country
From this reading Hannaford is a patriot.
concerning or affecting a particular person or his or her private life and personality
From this reading He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.
glaringly vivid and graphic; marked by sensationalism
From this reading "Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading He struck me as quite disinterested; personal gain is nothing to him.
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading "Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading "Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Shocking!" fell sweetly from the lady at the head of the table.
a special situation
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading "As usual, I must beg leave to differ," put in Arnold.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "What would become of us if we left all that kind of thing to the other countries?
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.
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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.
