Chapter 4 of Adrift in the City is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Adrift in the City is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MR. KENYON'S SECRET. While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one. At half-past seven Roland left the house. At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
Chapter 4 of Adrift in the City is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
not to your liking
From this reading “While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.”
being one more than seven
From this reading “At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.”
having much knowledge or education
From this reading “At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.”
United States jazz musician who influenced the style of Louis Armstrong (1885-1938)
From this reading “While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.”
one of four equal parts
From this reading “At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.”
not used up
From this reading “While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.”
the act of competing as for profit or a prize
From this reading “While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.”
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.
a reception held in your own home
In this reading “While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.”
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 While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
not to your liking
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
being one more than seven
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
a man of refinement
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
the act of departing
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At half-past seven Roland left the house.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading At half-past seven Roland left the house.
having much knowledge or education
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading KENYON'S SECRET.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading At half-past seven Roland left the house.
a form of address for a man
From this reading MR.
United States jazz musician who influenced the style of Louis Armstrong (1885-1938)
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
one of four equal parts
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
not used up
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
the act of competing as for profit or a prize
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading KENYON'S SECRET.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading At half-past seven Roland left the house.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At half-past seven Roland left the house.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
during the time that
From this reading While this rivalry was going on between Oliver and Roland, Mr. Kenyon, remaining at home, had had a surprise and a disagreeable one.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading At quarter to eight the door-bell rang, and Mr. Kenyon was informed that a gentleman wished to see him.
Chapter 4 of Adrift in the City by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 138 sentences of Adrift in the City, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Adrift in the City by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 Adrift in the City by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4712 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56973 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #56973, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 392 minutes of reading across 943 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Adrift in the City section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Adrift in the City 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 Adrift in the City, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
