Chapter 1 of The Duke of York's steps is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Duke of York's steps is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.” The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest. “Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo. Old Grendonian dinner. ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
Chapter 1 of The Duke of York's steps is here in full — 218 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
a white sparkling wine either produced in Champagne or resembling that produced there
From this reading “‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.””
kill as a means of socially sanctioned punishment
From this reading “The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.”
(astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Leo
From this reading ““Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.”
no longer active in your work or profession
From this reading “The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.”
United States humorist remembered for his homespun commentary on politics and American society (1879-1935)
From this reading ““A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.””
dry to sweet amber wine from the Jerez region of southern Spain or similar wines produced elsewhere; usually drunk as an aperitif
From this reading ““A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.””
a season's yield of wine from a vineyard
From this reading ““Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.”
a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)
From this reading “The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading ““Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.”
In this reading “The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.”
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 “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.
(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 ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
a white sparkling wine either produced in Champagne or resembling that produced there
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading Old Grendonian dinner.
a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
kill as a means of socially sanctioned punishment
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Old Grendonian dinner.
a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.
immediately past
From this reading “Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.
(astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Leo
From this reading “Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
a form of address for a man
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.
not any; not one
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Old Grendonian dinner.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
a place (seaport or airport) where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country
From this reading “Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.
no longer active in your work or profession
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
precisely, exactly
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
United States humorist remembered for his homespun commentary on politics and American society (1879-1935)
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
dry to sweet amber wine from the Jerez region of southern Spain or similar wines produced elsewhere; usually drunk as an aperitif
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
term of address for a man
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “A glass of the Dow for Mr. Hessel, please, Rogers, and I’ll have brown sherry.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading “Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
a season's yield of wine from a vineyard
From this reading “Too much vintage port last night, I’m afraid, Leo.
a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
fermented juice (of grapes especially)
From this reading The wine waiter retired to execute the order and Sir Garth Fratten turned to his guest.
in the company of; together with
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘Hair of the dog that bit you’ may be all right with champagne, but port—no.”
Chapter 1 of The Duke of York's steps by Henry Wade holds 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 218 sentences of The Duke of York's steps, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Duke of York's steps by Henry Wade exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 218 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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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 Duke of York's steps, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
