Chapter 4 of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Volume 1 is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Volume 1 is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Now, that does decide me." "It decides me, too." "I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded. "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it. There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.
Chapter 4 of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Volume 1 is here in full — 171 sentences across 35 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.
any of several Old World tropical aromatic annual or perennial herbs of the genus Ocimum
From this reading “"I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.”
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading “"Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.”
feeling or showing worry or solicitude
From this reading “There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.”
reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading “"Now, that does decide me."”
third-person singular of “decide” — reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading “"It decides me, too."”
past form of “plead” — appeal or request earnestly
From this reading “"I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.”
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading “"Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.”
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading “"I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.
(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 "I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
any of several Old World tropical aromatic annual or perennial herbs of the genus Ocimum
From this reading "I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
feeling or showing worry or solicitude
From this reading There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.
reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading "Now, that does decide me."
third-person singular of “decide” — reach, make, or come to a decision about something
From this reading "It decides me, too."
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Now, that does decide me."
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It decides me, too."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Now, that does decide me."
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Now, that does decide me."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
past form of “plead” — appeal or request earnestly
From this reading "I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force
From this reading "I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.
in the near future
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
carry out
From this reading "I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Now, that does decide me."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "It decides me, too."
in or at the place that
From this reading There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "I will take all the responsibility, Basil," she pleaded.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
an affirmative
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading There's nothing mean about you, Isabel, where responsibility is concerned.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Oh yes; but you'll hand it back to me as soon as you've carried your point with it.
Chapter 4 of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Volume 1 by William Dean Howells holds 171 sentences, grouped into 35 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 171 sentences of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Volume 1 by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 171 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 4 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 A Hazard of New Fortunes — Volume 1 by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1703 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3366 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3366, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 141 minutes of reading across 341 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Hazard of New Fortunes — Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of A Hazard of New Fortunes — Volume 1 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 A Hazard of New Fortunes — Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
