Chapter 1 of The Marriage of William Durrant is here in full — 324 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Marriage of William Durrant is here in full — 324 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
My marriage has been a failure. I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly. I tried my best. I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success. I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
Chapter 1 of The Marriage of William Durrant is here in full — 324 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/64 · 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 “deal” — a particular instance of buying or selling
From this reading “I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.”
an act that fails
From this reading “My marriage has been a failure.”
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading “I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.”
a full supply
From this reading “I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.”
an event that accomplishes its intended purpose
From this reading “I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.”
not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune
From this reading “I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.”
in an unjust manner
From this reading “I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.”
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading “I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.”
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 “I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.”
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 My marriage has been a failure.
later than; following
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading My marriage has been a failure.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading I tried my best.
taking care or paying attention
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.
plural of “deal” — a particular instance of buying or selling
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.
an act that fails
From this reading My marriage has been a failure.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My marriage has been a failure.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading My marriage has been a failure.
the force of workers available
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My marriage has been a failure.
absolutely essential
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
a full supply
From this reading I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.
with good sense or in a reasonable or intelligent manner
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.
an event that accomplishes its intended purpose
From this reading I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
a special situation
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading I tried my best.
not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
in an unjust manner
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
in a constant and steadfast manner
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I started with plenty of opportunity, with what I thought was every chance of success.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I am one of those unfortunate men with whom fate deals unjustly.
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading I worked the whole thing out carefully—I knew what was necessary for our happiness and I went after it, sanely and unswervingly.
Chapter 1 of The Marriage of William Durrant by Ray Cummings holds 324 sentences, grouped into 65 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 324 sentences of The Marriage of William Durrant, unabridged, divided into 65 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Marriage of William Durrant by Ray Cummings exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 324 sentences, grouped into 65 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 65 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 65 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 Marriage of William Durrant by Ray Cummings on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 324 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67342 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67342, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 27 minutes of reading across 65 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Marriage of William Durrant section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Marriage of William Durrant 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 Marriage of William Durrant, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
