Chapter 1 of Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
JEAN. And didn't he? (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did. (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself? I belonged to the little class of armed women.
Chapter 1 of Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
(used of persons or the military) characterized by having or bearing arms
From this reading “I belonged to the little class of armed women.”
past form of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “I belonged to the little class of armed women.”
a collection of things sharing a common attribute
From this reading “I belonged to the little class of armed women.”
a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric
From this reading “JEAN.”
plural of “lay” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
lift onto one's shoulders
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading “(_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?”
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
From this reading “(_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?”
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.
In this reading “(_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?”
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.
later than; following
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And didn't he?
(used of persons or the military) characterized by having or bearing arms
From this reading I belonged to the little class of armed women.
past form of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading I belonged to the little class of armed women.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
a collection of things sharing a common attribute
From this reading I belonged to the little class of armed women.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And didn't he?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And didn't he?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric
From this reading JEAN.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
plural of “lay” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I belonged to the little class of armed women.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
above and across; more than
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
by chance
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading (LADY JOHN _lays her hand on_ MISS LEVERING'S _shoulder._) MISS L. Perhaps after all he did.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I belonged to the little class of armed women.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I belonged to the little class of armed women.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
in the company of; together with
From this reading (_With sudden change of tone._) Why do I waste time over myself?
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading I belonged to the little class of armed women.
Chapter 1 of Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts by Elizabeth Robins holds 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 423 sentences of Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts by Elizabeth Robins exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts by Elizabeth Robins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2548 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43502 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43502, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 212 minutes of reading across 510 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts 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 Votes for Women: A Play in Three Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
