Chapter 1 of The passionate year is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The passionate year is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Ah, um yes, Mr. Speed, is it not?... Welcome, sir! Welcome to Millstead!" Kenneth Speed gripped the other's hand and smiled. He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
Chapter 1 of The passionate year is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading “He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.”
inflected form of “grip” — hold fast or firmly
From this reading “Kenneth Speed gripped the other's hand and smiled.”
to certain extent or degree
From this reading “He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.”
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “Kenneth Speed gripped the other's hand and smiled.”
move hurridly
From this reading “"Ah, um yes, Mr. Speed, is it not?...”
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading “He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.”
the time of life between 20 and 30
From this reading “He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.”
accept gladly
From this reading “Welcome, sir!”
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 “He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.”
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 He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah, um yes, Mr. Speed, is it not?...
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Kenneth Speed gripped the other's hand and smiled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
having hair of a dark color
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
a boy or man
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
inflected form of “grip” — hold fast or firmly
From this reading Kenneth Speed gripped the other's hand and smiled.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Kenneth Speed gripped the other's hand and smiled.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Ah, um yes, Mr. Speed, is it not?...
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Ah, um yes, Mr. Speed, is it not?...
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kenneth Speed gripped the other's hand and smiled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Welcome to Millstead!"
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Ah, um yes, Mr. Speed, is it not?...
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Ah, um yes, Mr. Speed, is it not?...
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kenneth Speed gripped the other's hand and smiled.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
term of address for a man
From this reading Welcome, sir!
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Kenneth Speed gripped the other's hand and smiled.
move hurridly
From this reading "Ah, um yes, Mr. Speed, is it not?...
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Kenneth Speed gripped the other's hand and smiled.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Welcome to Millstead!"
the time of life between 20 and 30
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah, um yes, Mr. Speed, is it not?...
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was a tall passably good-looking fellow in his early twenties, bright-eyed and brown-haired.
accept gladly
From this reading Welcome, sir!
an affirmative
From this reading "Ah, um yes, Mr. Speed, is it not?...
Chapter 1 of The passionate year by James Hilton holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 421 sentences of The passionate year, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The passionate year by James Hilton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 passionate year by James Hilton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The passionate year section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The passionate year 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 passionate year, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
