Chapter 1 of The End of a Coil is here in full — 312 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The End of a Coil is here in full — 312 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE END OF A COIL. "THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD." "Well begun is half done." NOTE TO THE READER. As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
Chapter 1 of The End of a Coil is here in full — 312 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/62 · 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.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “"Well begun is half done."”
a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops
From this reading “THE END OF A COIL.”
an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole
From this reading “As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.”
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading “As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.”
a person who enjoys reading
From this reading “NOTE TO THE READER.”
belonging to or characteristic of Romanticism or the Romantic Movement in the arts
From this reading “As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.”
not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred
From this reading “As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “"THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD."”
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 THE END OF A COIL.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "Well begun is half done."
an occurrence of something
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops
From this reading THE END OF A COIL.
the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "Well begun is half done."
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading THE END OF A COIL.
divisible by two
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading "Well begun is half done."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Well begun is half done."
used to form the superlative
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
a brief written record
From this reading NOTE TO THE READER.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE END OF A COIL.
a person who enjoys reading
From this reading NOTE TO THE READER.
belonging to or characteristic of Romanticism or the Romantic Movement in the arts
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE END OF A COIL.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading NOTE TO THE READER.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred
From this reading As in the case of "My Desire," the turning facts of this story are fact; even to the most romantic and unlikely detail.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well begun is half done."
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading "THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD."
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading "THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD."
Chapter 1 of The End of a Coil by Susan Warner holds 312 sentences, grouped into 63 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 312 sentences of The End of a Coil, unabridged, divided into 63 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The End of a Coil by Susan Warner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 312 sentences, grouped into 63 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 63 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 63 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 End of a Coil by Susan Warner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12841 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27618 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27618, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2569 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The End of a Coil section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The End of a Coil 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 End of a Coil, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
