Chapter 4 of Around Old Bethany is here in full — 462 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Around Old Bethany is here in full — 462 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mary closed her eyes. She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own. A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face. It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet to her. Robert hardly knew what to do or to say.
Chapter 4 of Around Old Bethany is here in full — 462 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/92 · 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.
spiritual being attendant upon God
From this reading “She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.”
past form of “claim” — assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing
From this reading “She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.”
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading “Mary closed her eyes.”
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading “Mary closed her eyes.”
United States parliamentary authority and author (in 1876) of Robert's Rules of Order (1837-1923)
From this reading “Robert hardly knew what to do or to say.”
the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation
From this reading “A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face.”
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading “A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face.”
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading “It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet 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 A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face.
spiritual being attendant upon God
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
past form of “claim” — assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading Mary closed her eyes.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Robert hardly knew what to do or to say.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Mary closed her eyes.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
only a very short time before
From this reading Robert hardly knew what to do or to say.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mary closed her eyes.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
to an inexpressible degree
From this reading It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet to her.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet to her.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Robert hardly knew what to do or to say.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading Mary closed her eyes.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Robert hardly knew what to do or to say.
above and across; more than
From this reading A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
United States parliamentary authority and author (in 1876) of Robert's Rules of Order (1837-1923)
From this reading Robert hardly knew what to do or to say.
the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation
From this reading A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face.
express in words
From this reading Robert hardly knew what to do or to say.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet to her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet to her.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet to her.
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading A sweet smile of satisfaction spread over her face.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
in or at that place or location
From this reading She lay there, so quiet, as if the angel of death had claimed her for His own.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet to her.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet to her.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Robert hardly knew what to do or to say.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading It seemed some angel voice had whispered something ineffably sweet to her.
Chapter 4 of Around Old Bethany by R. L. (Robert Lee) Berry holds 462 sentences, grouped into 93 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 462 sentences of Around Old Bethany, unabridged, divided into 93 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Around Old Bethany by R. L. (Robert Lee) Berry exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 462 sentences, grouped into 93 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 93 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 93 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 Around Old Bethany by R. L. (Robert Lee) Berry on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1857 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12616 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12616, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 154 minutes of reading across 372 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Around Old Bethany section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Around Old Bethany 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 Around Old Bethany, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
