Chapter 4 of A United States Midshipman in Japan is here in full — 245 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of A United States Midshipman in Japan is here in full — 245 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.” The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch. “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise. He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner. “There’s my stuff on the desk.
Chapter 4 of A United States Midshipman in Japan is here in full — 245 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
inflected form of “arise” — come into existence; take on form or shape
From this reading “The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.”
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading “The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.”
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading “The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.”
a wooden pin pushed or driven into a surface
From this reading “He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner.”
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading “The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.”
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading “The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.”
agitating a liquid with an implement
From this reading “STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.””
the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object
From this reading ““There’s my stuff on the desk.”
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 “The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.”
In this reading “The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.”
In this reading ““By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.”
In this reading ““There’s my stuff on the desk.”
In this reading “He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner.”
In this reading “The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.”
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 The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
inflected form of “arise” — come into existence; take on form or shape
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
on or to one side
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.
an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner.
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.
(Roman mythology) supreme god of Romans; counterpart of Greek Zeus
From this reading “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “There’s my stuff on the desk.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “There’s my stuff on the desk.
above and across; more than
From this reading “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.
writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
a wooden pin pushed or driven into a surface
From this reading He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner.
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner.
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
agitating a liquid with an implement
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object
From this reading “There’s my stuff on the desk.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading “By Jove, it’s nearly over,” he added in some surprise.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There’s my stuff on the desk.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading He put his watch back in his pocket, and took a coat and hat from a peg in the corner.
a source of difficulty
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading STIRRING UP TROUBLE “I’d like to have seen the garden fête.”
look attentively
From this reading The speaker arose from his seat at a desk, pushed a mass of papers aside and glanced at his watch.
Chapter 4 of A United States Midshipman in Japan by Yates Stirling holds 245 sentences, grouped into 49 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 4 holds 245 sentences of A United States Midshipman in Japan, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of A United States Midshipman in Japan by Yates Stirling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 245 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 United States Midshipman in Japan by Yates Stirling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4198 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67484 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67484, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 349 minutes of reading across 840 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A United States Midshipman in Japan section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of A United States Midshipman in Japan 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 United States Midshipman in Japan, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
