Chapter 1 of The sporting chance is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The sporting chance is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SPORTING CHANCE. AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC. _ILLUSTRATED._ LONDON: WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED. 1910. "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
Chapter 1 of The sporting chance is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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 “author” — writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.”
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading “"It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"”
a felt hat that is round and hard with a narrow brim
From this reading “"It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"”
small in range or scope
From this reading “_ILLUSTRATED._ LONDON: WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED.”
out of fashion
From this reading “"It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"”
plural of “plain” — extensive tract of level open land
From this reading “AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.”
established beyond doubt
From this reading “AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.”
exhibiting or calling for sportsmanship or fair play
From this reading “THE SPORTING CHANCE.”
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.
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading “"It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"”
In this reading “"It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1910.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
plural of “author” — writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading THE SPORTING CHANCE.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ LONDON: WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED.
teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
a felt hat that is round and hard with a narrow brim
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.
a student enrolled in (or graduated from) Eton College
From this reading AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ LONDON: WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
small in range or scope
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ LONDON: WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED.
fasten with a lock
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ LONDON: WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ LONDON: WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.
out of fashion
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
plural of “plain” — extensive tract of level open land
From this reading AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.
established beyond doubt
From this reading AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading AUTHORS OF "THE SHULAMITE," "THE ETONIAN," "THE PLAINS OF SILENCE," "NOT PROVEN," ETC.
exhibiting or calling for sportsmanship or fair play
From this reading THE SPORTING CHANCE.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SPORTING CHANCE.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
a person who is under the protection or in the custody of another
From this reading _ILLUSTRATED._ LONDON: WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "It may be old-fashioned to drive a coach to the Derby, but I'll be in my coffin before I'll go down any other way!"
Chapter 1 of The sporting chance by Alice Askew holds 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 194 sentences of The sporting chance, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The sporting chance by Alice Askew exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The sporting chance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
