Chapter 1 of What Shall It Profit? is here in full — 604 sentences across 121 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of What Shall It Profit? is here in full — 604 sentences across 121 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
What Shall It Profit? _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it." The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell. "Now they're coming home to roost."
Chapter 1 of What Shall It Profit? is here in full — 604 sentences across 121 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/120 · 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.
make by combining materials and parts
From this reading “_"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."”
plural of “chicken” — the flesh of a chicken used for food
From this reading “The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.”
a farm building for housing poultry
From this reading “The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.”
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading “_"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."”
inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading “The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.”
the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses)
From this reading “What Shall It Profit?”
sit, as on a branch
From this reading “"Now they're coming home to roost."”
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading “_"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."”
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.
take a seat
In this reading “_"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."”
being one hundred more than two hundred
In this reading “The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.”
In this reading “The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.”
In this reading “_"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."”
In this reading “The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.”
In this reading “"Now they're coming home to roost."”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.”
In this reading “The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.”
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 _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
in the past
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
make by combining materials and parts
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
plural of “chicken” — the flesh of a chicken used for food
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading "Now they're coming home to roost."
a farm building for housing poultry
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
determine the number or amount of
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "Now they're coming home to roost."
ten 10s
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading What Shall It Profit?
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Now they're coming home to roost."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
the property of having material worth (often indicated by the amount of money something would bring if sold)
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
the excess of revenues over outlays in a given period of time (including depreciation and other non-cash expenses)
From this reading What Shall It Profit?
sit, as on a branch
From this reading "Now they're coming home to roost."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading What Shall It Profit?
be seated
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Now they're coming home to roost."
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What Shall It Profit?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
a late time of life
From this reading The price may be much too high._ "The chickens got out of the coop and flew away three hundred years ago," said Barwell.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _"If you would build a tower, sit down first and count the cost, to see if you have enough to finish it."
Chapter 1 of What Shall It Profit? by Poul Anderson holds 604 sentences, grouped into 121 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 604 sentences of What Shall It Profit?, unabridged, divided into 121 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of What Shall It Profit? by Poul Anderson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 604 sentences, grouped into 121 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 121 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 121 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 What Shall It Profit? by Poul Anderson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 604 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59498 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59498, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 50 minutes of reading across 121 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through What Shall It Profit? section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of What Shall It Profit? 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 What Shall It Profit?, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
