Chapter 1 of The Purchase Price is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Purchase Price is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Madam, you are charming! You have not slept, and yet you smile. No man could ask a better prisoner." She turned to him, smiling faintly. "I thank you.
Chapter 1 of The Purchase Price is here in full — 326 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/65 · 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 or delighting
From this reading “"Madam, you are charming!”
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading “She turned to him, smiling faintly.”
a woman of refinement
From this reading “"Madam, you are charming!”
a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading “No man could ask a better prisoner."”
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading “You have not slept, and yet you smile.”
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “You have not slept, and yet you smile.”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “She turned to him, smiling faintly.”
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading “"I thank you.”
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 No man could ask a better prisoner."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You have not slept, and yet you smile.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Madam, you are charming!
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading No man could ask a better prisoner."
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading No man could ask a better prisoner."
pleasing or delighting
From this reading "Madam, you are charming!
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading No man could ask a better prisoner."
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading She turned to him, smiling faintly.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You have not slept, and yet you smile.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She turned to him, smiling faintly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I thank you.
a woman of refinement
From this reading "Madam, you are charming!
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading No man could ask a better prisoner."
not any; not one
From this reading No man could ask a better prisoner."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading You have not slept, and yet you smile.
a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading No man could ask a better prisoner."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She turned to him, smiling faintly.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading You have not slept, and yet you smile.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading You have not slept, and yet you smile.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading She turned to him, smiling faintly.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading "I thank you.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She turned to him, smiling faintly.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading She turned to him, smiling faintly.
but in spite of that
From this reading You have not slept, and yet you smile.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Madam, you are charming!
Chapter 1 of The Purchase Price by Emerson Hough holds 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 326 sentences of The Purchase Price, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Purchase Price by Emerson Hough exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 326 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 Purchase Price by Emerson Hough 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 Purchase Price section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Purchase Price 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 Purchase Price, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
