Chapter 1 of The Pretty Lady is here in full — 49 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Pretty Lady is here in full — 49 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her. She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough. The man stopped. She at once gave a frank, kind smile, which changed all her face. He raised his hat an inch or so.
Chapter 1 of The Pretty Lady is here in full — 49 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 5/9 · 5 reading units · Lines 21–25
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.
again but in a new or different way
From this reading “Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.”
disposed to please
From this reading “She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.”
The quality of being well meaning; kindness and generosity. (Lòng nhân ái, sự nhân từ độ lượng.)
From this reading “She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.”
with discretion; prudently and with wise self-restraint
From this reading “Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.”
past form of “emerge” — come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading “Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.”
a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading “He raised his hat an inch or so.”
plural of “knot” — a tight cluster of people or things
From this reading “Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.”
capable of being perceived by the mind or senses
From this reading “She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.”
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 She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
again but in a new or different way
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
(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 She at once gave a frank, kind smile, which changed all her face.
disposed to please
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He raised his hat an inch or so.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She at once gave a frank, kind smile, which changed all her face.
The quality of being well meaning; kindness and generosity. (Lòng nhân ái, sự nhân từ độ lượng.)
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading She at once gave a frank, kind smile, which changed all her face.
capable of being denied or contradicted
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
with discretion; prudently and with wise self-restraint
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
open to doubt or suspicion
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
past form of “emerge” — come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
divisible by two
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
opinion or judgment
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading She at once gave a frank, kind smile, which changed all her face.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading She at once gave a frank, kind smile, which changed all her face.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading She at once gave a frank, kind smile, which changed all her face.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading He raised his hat an inch or so.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He raised his hat an inch or so.
a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
From this reading He raised his hat an inch or so.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading She at once gave a frank, kind smile, which changed all her face.
plural of “knot” — a tight cluster of people or things
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
set afire or burning
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man stopped.
in motion
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
on one occasion
From this reading She at once gave a frank, kind smile, which changed all her face.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He raised his hat an inch or so.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
capable of being perceived by the mind or senses
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
in the near future
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading He raised his hat an inch or so.
only a very short time before
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He raised his hat an inch or so.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading The man stopped.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Presently he emerged afresh out of the moving knots of promenaders and discreetly approached her.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading She at once gave a frank, kind smile, which changed all her face.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She did not smile, but her eyes lighted with a faint amiable benevolence--scarcely perceptible, doubtful, deniable even, but enough.
Chapter 1 of The Pretty Lady by Arnold Bennett holds 49 sentences, grouped into 10 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 49 sentences of The Pretty Lady, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Pretty Lady by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 49 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 Pretty Lady by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5883 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12673 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12673, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 490 minutes of reading across 1177 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Pretty Lady section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Pretty Lady 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 Pretty Lady, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
