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.
She liked men to raise their hats. Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress. His cigar had a very fine aroma. She classed him in half a second and was happy. He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
Chapter 1 of The Pretty Lady is here in full — 49 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 6/9 · 5 reading units · Lines 26–30
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.
distinctive manner of oral expression
From this reading “He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.”
any property detected by the olfactory system
From this reading “His cigar had a very fine aroma.”
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading “His cigar had a very fine aroma.”
past form of “class” — arrange or order by classes or categories
From this reading “She classed him in half a second and was happy.”
characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation
From this reading “He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.”
plural of “hat” — headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading “She liked men to raise their hats.”
raise the level or amount of something
From this reading “She liked men to raise their hats.”
clearly evident to the mind
From this reading “He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.”
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 Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
distinctive manner of oral expression
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She classed him in half a second and was happy.
any property detected by the olfactory system
From this reading His cigar had a very fine aroma.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading His cigar had a very fine aroma.
past form of “class” — arrange or order by classes or categories
From this reading She classed him in half a second and was happy.
without doubt or question
From this reading Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
put on clothes
From this reading Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading His cigar had a very fine aroma.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
a man of refinement
From this reading Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading His cigar had a very fine aroma.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading She classed him in half a second and was happy.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading She classed him in half a second and was happy.
plural of “hat” — headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading She liked men to raise their hats.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She classed him in half a second and was happy.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His cigar had a very fine aroma.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading She liked men to raise their hats.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
the force of workers available
From this reading She liked men to raise their hats.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
raise the level or amount of something
From this reading She liked men to raise their hats.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading She classed him in half a second and was happy.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She liked men to raise their hats.
a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading She liked men to raise their hats.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She liked men to raise their hats.
clearly evident to the mind
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
precisely as stated
From this reading His cigar had a very fine aroma.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Clearly he was a gentleman of means, though in morning dress.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He spoke to her in French, with a slight, unmistakable English accent, but very good, easy, conversational French--French French.
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.
