Chapter 1 of Widows grave and otherwise is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Widows grave and otherwise is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Widders are ’ceptions to ev’ry rule.” —Dickens. Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind. —Prior. January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
Chapter 1 of Widows grave and otherwise is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
a word used in exclamations of confusion
From this reading “—Dickens.”
plural of “fault” — a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.”
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
From this reading “January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.”
support consisting of a branch or rod that serves as a resting place (especially for a bird)
From this reading “January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.”
earlier in time
From this reading “—Prior.”
fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used
From this reading “January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.”
plural of “virtue” — the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong
From this reading “Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.”
plural of “widow” — a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading “January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.”
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 “January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.”
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 Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Widders are ’ceptions to ev’ry rule.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.
people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Widders are ’ceptions to ev’ry rule.”
a word used in exclamations of confusion
From this reading —Dickens.
let fall to the ground
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Widders are ’ceptions to ev’ry rule.”
plural of “fault” — a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.
support consisting of a branch or rod that serves as a resting place (especially for a bird)
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
earlier in time
From this reading —Prior.
fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading “Widders are ’ceptions to ev’ry rule.”
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Widders are ’ceptions to ev’ry rule.”
precisely as stated
From this reading Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.
plural of “virtue” — the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong
From this reading Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Widders are ’ceptions to ev’ry rule.”
plural of “widow” — a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading January First Widows, like ripe fruit, drop easily from their perch.
Chapter 1 of Widows grave and otherwise by Cora D. [Compiler] Willmarth holds 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 441 sentences of Widows grave and otherwise, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Widows grave and otherwise by Cora D. [Compiler] Willmarth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 441 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Widows grave and otherwise by Cora D. [Compiler] Willmarth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Widows grave and otherwise section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Widows grave and otherwise 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 Widows grave and otherwise, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
