Chapter 4 of Anecdotes of Big Cats and Other Beasts is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Anecdotes of Big Cats and Other Beasts is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He put out his paw and tugged the doily. Hurrah! The bowl moved briskly. The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out. The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.
Chapter 4 of Anecdotes of Big Cats and Other Beasts is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
in a brisk manner
From this reading “The bowl moved briskly.”
a small round piece of linen placed under a dish or bowl
From this reading “He put out his paw and tugged the doily.”
a victory cheer
From this reading “Hurrah!”
young domestic cat
From this reading “The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.”
scrape with the paws
From this reading “He put out his paw and tugged the doily.”
joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
From this reading “The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.”
pull hard
From this reading “The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.”
inflected form of “tug” — pull hard
From this reading “He put out his paw and tugged the doily.”
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.
to cause inconvenience or discomfort to
In this reading “He put out his paw and tugged the doily.”
In this reading “The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He put out his paw and tugged the doily.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.
a round vessel that is open at the top; used chiefly for holding food or liquids
From this reading The bowl moved briskly.
in a brisk manner
From this reading The bowl moved briskly.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.
past form of “dart” — move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.
a small round piece of linen placed under a dish or bowl
From this reading He put out his paw and tugged the doily.
a quantity of liquor equal to one fifth of a United States gallon
From this reading The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.
inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.
set up or found
From this reading The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He put out his paw and tugged the doily.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He put out his paw and tugged the doily.
pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
From this reading The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.
a victory cheer
From this reading Hurrah!
young domestic cat
From this reading The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading The bowl moved briskly.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He put out his paw and tugged the doily.
scrape with the paws
From this reading He put out his paw and tugged the doily.
a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence
From this reading The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He put out his paw and tugged the doily.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He put out his paw and tugged the doily.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.
joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
From this reading The triumphant kitten darted round the bowl to catch his prey and found nothing.
pull hard
From this reading The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.
inflected form of “tug” — pull hard
From this reading He put out his paw and tugged the doily.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading The hunt was up now at the fifth tug the water flew out.
Chapter 4 of Anecdotes of Big Cats and Other Beasts by David Alec Wilson holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of Anecdotes of Big Cats and Other Beasts, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Anecdotes of Big Cats and Other Beasts by David Alec Wilson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Anecdotes of Big Cats and Other Beasts by David Alec Wilson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3279 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55255 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55255, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 273 minutes of reading across 656 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Anecdotes of Big Cats and Other Beasts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Anecdotes of Big Cats and Other Beasts 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 Anecdotes of Big Cats and Other Beasts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
