Chapter 4 of Alice Adams is here in full — 173 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 Alice Adams is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her. “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him. “I'll go see.” And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams. “Yes.
Chapter 4 of Alice Adams is here in full — 173 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.
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
From this reading “Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.”
of short duration or distance
From this reading “And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.”
of persons; not subject to change
From this reading “And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.”
a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission
From this reading “And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.”
the middle of the day
From this reading “Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.”
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading ““I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.”
United States philosopher (1876-1957)
From this reading “Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.”
worried and uneasy
From this reading “Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.”
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 Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1722-1803)
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
in the past
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
of short duration or distance
From this reading And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
of persons; not subject to change
From this reading And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.
a pair who associate with one another
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
a female human offspring
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission
From this reading And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “I'll go see.”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I'll go see.”
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
From this reading And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.
a message received and understood
From this reading And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.
the act of departing
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
for more time
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
by chance
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.
the middle of the day
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
United States philosopher (1876-1957)
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
worried and uneasy
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.
express in words
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “I'll go see.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And she returned from the brief errand, her impression confirmed by information from Mrs. Adams.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “I thought I heard her leaving the house a couple of hours ago--maybe longer,” the nurse told him.
in the direction of
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading Adams had a restless morning, and toward noon he asked Miss Perry to call his daughter; he wished to say something to her.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes.
Chapter 4 of Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington holds 173 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 173 sentences of Alice Adams, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 173 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 Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5996 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #980 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #980, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 499 minutes of reading across 1200 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Alice Adams section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Alice Adams 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 Alice Adams, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
