Chapter 1 of Up for Renewal is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Up for Renewal is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I'd give a year off my life to...." Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent! Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders. In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders. They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
Chapter 1 of Up for Renewal is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
From this reading “Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!”
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading “Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.”
a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans
From this reading “Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!”
bordered by a line of things
From this reading “In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.”
the manner in which something is greeted
From this reading “They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.”
the phenomenon of vitality and freshness being restored
From this reading “They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.”
hanging down (as from exhaustion or weakness)
From this reading “In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.”
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading “In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.”
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.
a room for receiving and entertaining visitors (as in a private house or hotel)
In this reading “They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.”
In this reading “They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.”
In this reading “Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.”
rest on for support
In this reading “Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.”
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 "I'd give a year off my life to...."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!
opinion or judgment
From this reading In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
From this reading Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "I'd give a year off my life to...."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.
to a considerable degree
From this reading In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
English actor of stage and screen (1893-1943)
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'd give a year off my life to...."
not in action or at work
From this reading Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!
and nothing more
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
a county in southeastern England on the English Channel; formerly an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, it was the first to be colonized by the Romans
From this reading Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "I'd give a year off my life to...."
bordered by a line of things
From this reading In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I'd give a year off my life to...."
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "I'd give a year off my life to...."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you
From this reading Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!
the manner in which something is greeted
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
the phenomenon of vitality and freshness being restored
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
hanging down (as from exhaustion or weakness)
From this reading In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.
cut with a saw
From this reading In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading In her eyes he saw his heavily lined face and sagging, stooped shoulders.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They stood just inside the long, narrow reception room of the Human Rejuvenation Plant.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I'd give a year off my life to...."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Idle talk now, but it was ghastly reality to Kent!
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading "I'd give a year off my life to...."
a late time of life
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Howard Kent looked at his young and beautiful wife and felt the weight of the years rest on his shoulders.
Chapter 1 of Up for Renewal by Lucius Daniel holds 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 170 sentences of Up for Renewal, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Up for Renewal by Lucius Daniel exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 Up for Renewal by Lucius Daniel on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 170 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51035 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51035, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 14 minutes of reading across 34 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Up for Renewal section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Up for Renewal 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 Up for Renewal, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
