Chapter 1 of The Indiscretion of the Duchess is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Indiscretion of the Duchess is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Significance of a Supper-Table. The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race. We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals. We keep our heads on our shoulders and our purses in our pockets. We do not rise very high, but we have never sunk.
Chapter 1 of The Indiscretion of the Duchess is here in full — 141 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
plural of “ambition” — a cherished desire
From this reading “We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.”
plural of “enthusiasm” — a feeling of excitement
From this reading “We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.”
plural of “illusion” — an erroneous mental representation
From this reading “We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.”
a small natural hill
From this reading “The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race.”
plural of “purse” — a container used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women)
From this reading “We keep our heads on our shoulders and our purses in our pockets.”
plural of “scandal” — disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people
From this reading “We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.”
the quality of being significant
From this reading “The Significance of a Supper-Table.”
doomed to extinction
From this reading “We do not rise very high, but we have never sunk.”
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 Significance of a Supper-Table.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race.
plural of “ambition” — a cherished desire
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading We do not rise very high, but we have never sunk.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading We do not rise very high, but we have never sunk.
plural of “enthusiasm” — a feeling of excitement
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading We keep our heads on our shoulders and our purses in our pockets.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading We do not rise very high, but we have never sunk.
plural of “illusion” — an erroneous mental representation
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We keep our heads on our shoulders and our purses in our pockets.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading We keep our heads on our shoulders and our purses in our pockets.
a small natural hill
From this reading The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race.
exercising or showing good judgment
From this reading The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading We do not rise very high, but we have never sunk.
not any; not one
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Significance of a Supper-Table.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading We keep our heads on our shoulders and our purses in our pockets.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We keep our heads on our shoulders and our purses in our pockets.
plural of “pocket” — a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading We keep our heads on our shoulders and our purses in our pockets.
plural of “purse” — a container used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women)
From this reading We keep our heads on our shoulders and our purses in our pockets.
any competition
From this reading The Aycons of Aycon Knoll have always been a hard-headed, levelheaded race.
move upward
From this reading We do not rise very high, but we have never sunk.
plural of “scandal” — disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading We keep our heads on our shoulders and our purses in our pockets.
the quality of being significant
From this reading The Significance of a Supper-Table.
doomed to extinction
From this reading We do not rise very high, but we have never sunk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Significance of a Supper-Table.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Significance of a Supper-Table.
precisely as stated
From this reading We do not rise very high, but we have never sunk.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We have had no enthusiasms, few ambitions, no illusions, and not many scandals.
Chapter 1 of The Indiscretion of the Duchess by Anthony Hope holds 141 sentences, grouped into 29 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 141 sentences of The Indiscretion of the Duchess, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Indiscretion of the Duchess by Anthony Hope exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 141 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 Indiscretion of the Duchess by Anthony Hope on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3464 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13909 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13909, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 288 minutes of reading across 693 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Indiscretion of the Duchess section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Indiscretion of the Duchess 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 Indiscretion of the Duchess, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
