Chapter 7 of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Fancy seeing a lion! Weren’t you frightened?” Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa. He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind. “I scarcely had time,” he said.
Chapter 7 of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
generally approved or compelling recognition
From this reading “Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.”
the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean
From this reading “Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.”
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading “He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.”
made afraid
From this reading “Weren’t you frightened?””
large gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
From this reading ““Fancy seeing a lion!”
gathered for protruding fullness
From this reading “He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.”
past form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading “He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.”
in an exhaustive manner
From this reading “Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.”
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 “Fancy seeing a lion!
generally approved or compelling recognition
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
something many people believe that is false
From this reading “Fancy seeing a lion!
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
made afraid
From this reading Weren’t you frightened?”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I scarcely had time,” he said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
in a languid and lethargic manner
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
large gregarious predatory feline of Africa and India having a tawny coat with a shaggy mane in the male
From this reading “Fancy seeing a lion!
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
gathered for protruding fullness
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
past form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I scarcely had time,” he said.
only a very short time before
From this reading “I scarcely had time,” he said.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading “Fancy seeing a lion!
established or decided beyond dispute or doubt
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
a strait of the English Channel between the coast of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He puffed his cigarette and regarded the Solent languidly as he settled the fate on that lion in his mind.
in an exhaustive manner
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading “I scarcely had time,” he said.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mr. Hoopdriver was now thoroughly sorry he had accepted that offer of South Africa.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Weren’t you frightened?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Weren’t you frightened?”
Chapter 7 of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 7 holds 408 sentences of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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.
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